THE RISEN SAVIOUR'S GIFT OF PEACE! May 4, 2025

I am sure you have noticed the frequency with which, after His Resurrection, Our Lord greets His disciples with those simple words: “Peace be with you”. They are words which also come to us in one form or another in the Mass, especially as we prepare to meet Our Lord in Eucharistic Communion.

     That awesome encounter with Him in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood gives us a clue as to how we best understand His words. When we think of “peace” we perhaps automatically think of its absence in so many parts of our world: wars in Europe, the Middle East and beyond, terrorism in its many manifestations, persecutions of the faith – the list is long.

     It is right and proper that we pray for peace for all those caught up in the effects of war, violence and hatred. We might also think of how society is shattered in so many ways: crime, divorce, abortion, euthanasia, family breakdown and so on. So many of our fellow men and women lead lives which are deeply disturbed as a result of what has happened to them as old certainties and ways of behaviour collapse. We should indeed pray for them and for the allaying of their anxieties and the healing of their wounds, physical and emotional.

     Also, in a time of economic upheaval and the accompanying worries that brings, we should pray for the peace necessary for society to continue to function properly in a time of deep uncertainty and stress. However, the peace which Christ bestows on us is some-thing deeper than all of these. Here are some words of St Thomas More: “Nothing can come but than that God wills. And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall indeed be the best.” The words of a man about to suffer martyrdom for his faith in Christ and his adherence to the Church, reveal to us that true peace which Christ gives. It is a peace which comes from being united to Him; it is a peace which is unruffled, undisturbed by the events this world throws at us: the betrayal of friends, the collapse of hopes and plans, the tragedies and anxieties which are part of all our lives.

     If we are friends with Christ, if His peace reigns in our hearts and souls then whatever happens “it shall indeed be the best”, because through it all God's plans are moving forward, even if we cannot perceive or understand them. That union, that friendship with Christ reaches a high point when we come to Him in Holy Communion. That goes to explain why Our Lord's resurrection appearances are often tied to “the breaking of bread” - to teach us that in the Eucharist, in the Mass, is the way we come to Him now. “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace”.

     This is what we pray for this weekend. A peace the world cannot give, a peace the world cannot take from us: the best gift of them all.

Together with all the parish clergy and staff, I wish you and your loved ones every blessing this Paschaltide. ~ Fr. Paul Dobson