Spiritual Reflection

Peace Be With You

These are the words that the risen Jesus used in greeting and we repeat each time we gather as the Eucharistic community—the body of Christ. A desire for how we wish to be with each other and in the world.

In a world that often feels fractured, loud, and relentlessly chaotic, the concept of peace can seem like a distant and fragile dream. We are bombarded daily with headlines of conflict, images of division, and the constant hum of global unrest. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, to believe that peace is a monumental task, a political ideal achievable only by nations and leaders. Yet, from a spiritual perspective, true and lasting peace begins in the quietest, most sacred place: within the human heart.

Peace is not merely the absence of war; it is the presence of an inner stillness that can hold the world's turmoil without being consumed by it. This is the peace that transcends understanding, the one that we cultivate through intentional practice. It is found not by silencing the world's noise, but by finding a deeper, more resonant desire within ourselves—a desire of calm, compassion, and unwavering hope. This is being and living in relationship with God, the source from which all other forms of peace flow.

When we are centered in God, our actions, words, and even our mere presence become instruments of love and peace. We are able to see the shared humanity in those we might otherwise consider "other." We can listen without judgment, respond with empathy, and seek common ground instead of drawing lines. The path to a peaceful world is not paved with grand gestures alone, but with the millions of small, daily acts of kindness, forgiveness, and understanding that spring from a peaceful soul.

To a world in turmoil, the spiritual perspective offers a radical truth: the most powerful revolution begins not in the streets, but in the sanctuary of the heart. By cultivating our own inner peace, we contribute to a collective field of peace that can transform the world, one breath, one thought, one act of love at a time.

Take some time in stillness and silence to be in relationship with God and to cultivate your own inner peace.
Where and how are you called to be instruments of peace in your life?
Reflect on the words of St Francis of Assisi. What does each one look like for you?

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not  so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.