FAUSTO GOMEZ OP
In two previous columns, we presented four requirements of peacemaking today, namely: (1) be at peace with yourself and with God, (2) be at peace with your immediate family and community, (3) be a builder of peace in your communities, (4) be at peace with the whole creation. Hereafter, we close our recipe for peace pointing out the two remaining requirements (5 and 6).
(5) SHARE SOMETHING WITH THE POOR
A significant point: the Community of St. Egidio understands peace as “the art of encountering the poor.”
I cannot love God without loving the neighbor (cf. I Jn 4:7-20). I cannot love all neighbors without loving the poor neighbor in a special way (cf. Mt 25: 31-36). The love of preference or preferential option for the poor is a necessary option stemming from my faith, hope and love. If I do not show this option in attitudes of concern for the oppressed and suffering of the earth, and if I do not manifest these options and attitudes in concrete actions for the poor and needy, I am not a peacemaker. Let us underline, with Pope Francis, that in presenting and studying the Gospel, there is one sign we should never lack: the option for those who are least, those whom society discards” (Veritatis Gaudium 4).
An emblematic text taken from St. Basil: “He who takes the clothes from a man is a thief. He who does not clothe the indigent, when he can, does he deserve another name but thief? The bread that you keep belongs to the hungry; to the naked, the coat that you hide in your coffers; to the shoeless, the shoes that are dusty at your home; and to the needy, the silver that you hide. In brief, you offend all those who can be helped by you.”
Another essential text, this time from Saint Ambrose commenting on Naboth and King Ahab: “You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handling over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.”
There is a loud voice in our world calling our attention to care especially for the living species threatened to disappear. As Leonardo Boff reminds us, the most threatened species are the poor. We have to care for them with them! In this context, we might wish to question ourselves for our lifestyle: How is our lifestyle, including gurus of correct ecological concerns? Is it simple or, on the contrary, is it a bit too comfortable? It is wonderful to quote the committed ecological concerns of Pope Francis, but this would be incomplete unless we are aware of his teaching connecting closely and continually “the cry of the earth” with “the cry of the poor” (Laudato Si’, nos. 10, 49, 91, 94), that make up integral ecology. I remember the words of the Canadian bishops some time ago: Let us live simply so that others may simply live.
(6) PRAY FOR PEACE
Inner peace and outer peace are gifts of God that call for our cooperation with his divine gifts. We pray for peace to God through Jesus, who is our peace (cf. Eph 2:14), in the Holy Spirit.
Prayer, meditation and contemplation – with repentance and forgiveness – effective paths to deepen and strengthen inner peace, which is the basic requirement to work for outer peace. Through genuine prayer, communion with God and neighbor is perfected and, likewise peace as the fruit of love of God and neighbor. St. John Chrysostom: “Prayer gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart.” Indeed, encounters with God liberates us from sin, unites us to God and urges us to service of neighbor. (Cf. Benedict XVI, Message, January 1, 1992).
St. John Paul II: “Prayer not only opens us up to a meeting with the most-high but also disposes us to a meeting with our neighbor, helping us to establish with everyone, without discrimination relationships of respect, understanding, esteem and love… Prayer, as the authentic expression of a right relationship with God and with others, is already a positive contribution to peace.” The Polish Pope was constantly asking Christians and all religious persons to pray for peace. Memorable indeed was his meeting with representatives from all religions in Assisi on January 24, 2002, where all prayed for a peace rooted in love and forgiveness. Christians pray for peace in the Eucharistic Celebration and offer each other – and all – a sign of peace.
Our prayer will be an offering pleasing to God, if it is preceded by a sincere effort to reconcile with our brothers and sisters, that is, to forgive them and ask for their forgiveness. We are asked to pray and fast. For Gandhi, for our saints, fasting is a penance, an instrument of purification, and a kind of prayer – of a better prayer.
Realizing, however, that I am weak and poor and selfish, I have to pray always, as an individual Christian and as a member of the Church of Christ – a community of faith, hope, and love. St. Catherine of Siena tells us that prayer is the mother of all virtues and therefore of peace, too. I pray to God for peace. I ask Mary and all the saints to help me – and my brothers and sisters – be committed to peace. But – I say it again -, I cannot be a peacemaker if I have no internal peace. And I cannot possess internal peace if I am not at peace with God. I pray, therefore, for my continuing conversion to God.
Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, is the Queen of Peace (Regina pacis). In particular, we are asked to pray the Rosary of the Virgin Mary for peace: “The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace” (John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, October 2002, no. 40).
All religious peoples pray for peace, because peace is also a gift of God. Christians pray for peace and for the attainment of the essential elements of peace – justice, love, compassion, freedom and truth: “To pray for peace is to pray for justice, for a right ordering of relations within and among nations and peoples. It is to pray for freedom, especially for the religious freedom that is a basic human and civil right of every individual. To pray for peace is to seek God’s forgiveness, and to implore the courage to forgive those who trespassed against us” (John Paul II, Message, January 1, 2002).
CONCLUSION
It is easy to speak or write on the Gospel of Peace. It is very easy to denounce injustice, violence and selfishness. It is not hard to tell others – to tell you – to opt for justice, peace and the poor.
My excellent professor of Christian Social Ethics, Ricardo Alberdi used to tell us, after strongly denouncing injustice and convincingly proclaiming justice: “We are all members of the Church of Christ. Somehow, she is still partly caught up in the web of capitalism; and so are many of her members. And so are we. And so am I! Therefore, I advise you to begin your teaching and preaching on justice – or on peace – thus: ‘I am a sinner; still, I tell you, not in my name but in the name of Jesus: Be just; be a peacemaker.
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