The first of the twelve beautiful promises that Jesus shares with those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart is that He will “give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.” What an inestimable gift to receive from our Lord! He is generous with His graces! The second promise of Jesus follows right upon the heels of that first one, where the graces we receive find their way in the most primary place in our lives... our homes. “I will establish peace in their homes”.
Notwithstanding all the earthly blessings we receive – and
there are many! - our world is a busy place, thronged with hustle and bustle,
the myriad voices, all kinds of media, the lights, the action, the cars and
congestion. And our world can be a
tumultuous, even quite dangerous place.
There can be no greater blessing than having the refuge of
peace in our homes. Our homes become a
bastion, a safe haven, of Christly peace, love and tranquility. The peace of Christ that we encounter in His
Church in the Mass is that same peace that He wishes for us to take into our
homes – the Ecclesia Domestica – the house church that is our own home, where
we can invite and establish His peace within the walls of our homes. Our homes
are where the peace of Christ reigns supreme.
And He promises that it will be so.
The most poignant example of Jesus bringing His peace into
a home that comes to my mind is a story about a group of men gathered in a room
in a house, an upper room. Their world has just been violently shattered,
because the Messiah whom they had followed for the previous three years had
just been unexpectedly arrested, accused of blasphemy and sedition, condemned
to death, beaten, crucified and placed in a tomb. Not only was their world literally turned
upside-down, they themselves were full of fear that the same fate that befell
our Lord might fall upon them. As His
ring of followers, were they being sought after? Were the authorities coming
for them? They might be busting down the
doors at any moment! So there they were, in the upper room, doors locked; the
disciples crowded together in misery and panic.
This poor band of disciples were experiencing every extreme
negative emotion you can imagine: horror, ravaging, fear, shame, calamity,
extreme anxiety, uncertainty, shame, anger, confusion, turmoil, grief and
devastating loss. And their emotional
agony was only amplified by all of them being stuck together is such a small
enclosed space. Into this room, through
the solid stone wall, walks our Savior Jesus.
“Peace be with you!” He proclaims. At the first sight of
His appearance, they literally think that they're seeing a ghost!
You've got to love the Gospel stories! They are palpable, compelling and often even
comical.
Here is the story from the
twenty-fourth chapter of Luke's Gospel,
“Jesus
himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were startled and frightened, and supposed
that they saw a ghost. And he said to them, “Why are
you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle
me, and see; for a ghost has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands
and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for
joy, and were filled with wonder.”
Into the midst of the swirling mix of emotions that they
were undergoing, Jesus brings His peace into that upper room and into their
hearts. Jesus brought His peace to them,
when and where they needed it most.
Through the promise of His presence, He shared His gift of peace them,
and restored their presence of mind and spirit of calm and their lives of hope
and faithfulness.
I don't suppose that our own homes are filled with such
turmoil... I pray that it is not so. The reality is that our homes can be very
unsettled, very un-peaceful places. This
is where the Sacred Heart promise is so powerful, so true, so reassuring and so
hopeful as believers in Him. Jesus'
Sacred Heart is peace in our lives... peace in our hearts... peace in our
homes. His peace is the antidote to
anguish, turmoil, tragedy, anger, uncertainty, confusion, agitation – all the
emotions we encounter in our lives and all too often bring home with us.
Yes Jesus, we ask You to bring Your peace into our hearts,
lives, families. Please, dear Lord, bring Your peace into our homes. Establish our homes in Your heavenly
tranquility.
Jesus' peace is powerful.
With this gift, He also promises joy and thanksgiving. Encouraging are these words of St. Paul:
Rejoice
in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Have no anxiety about anything,
but in everything by prayer with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians
4:4, 6-7
Pax Christi – Fr. Glenn
Baaten
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