The secret to living in peace is to be consistent with an upright Christian life: to live according to this holy choice we have made.
Newsroom (28/06/2022 09:15, Gaudium Press) A great Brazilian intellectual was known to say that glory is like our shadow: the more we run after it, the more it runs away from us; in order for it to follow us, we have to flee from it.
But this is not only true with glory; there are a number of other things that obey the same rule: peace, for example.
“Peace.” It is spoken of in pulpits, in political speeches, in the most diverse conferences, in public demonstrations… But, even today, who has truly found it? Besides that: it seems that the more we seek it, the further away it is from us. Proof of this are the news headlines published in recent months: wars, natural catastrophes, robberies, crimes, murders, etc. It is always the same, only the places and times change.
And never mind people’s inner peace. Has there ever been a time in history when restlessness and anxiety, fear and dread for the future have reigned as much as they do today? Why? Precisely because peace is sought so much where it does not exist.
The only way to peace
The Liturgy of this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time invites us to only one thing: to follow God, knowing that the rest will then come to us.
In the first reading, we see Elijah who, at the Lord’s command, is going to anoint Elisha as a prophet in his place. The latter simply bids farewell to his parents and begins to follow Elijah until the end of his life (cf. Rs 19:16-21).
In the Gospel, on the other hand, the invitation is much more demanding: “Whoever puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). This is what Our Lord replied to the one who said: “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my relatives” (Lk 9:62).
Does this mean, then, that Our Lord came to disturb family life even more by separating children from their parents? Would not this abandoning of everything to follow God produce even more misfortune for our chaotic society?
To think this way means not having understood what it means to “follow our Lord”. St. Paul himself tells us in today’s second reading: “Brothers, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be bound again to the yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1). This complete surrender to God, far from being a burden or a nuisance for our spirit, constitutes true peace of soul. Only in it do we find rest, free from all that binds us to this world.
This does not mean, however, that everyone should lock themselves up in a convent to live a life of prayer and penance, without any contact with the world, dedicating themselves solely to the service of God. Our Lord’s invitation is more accessible than we imagine.
Let us honour the religion we profess
The number of Catholics in the world today-especially in Brazil-constitutes a very considerable percentage. Among them, however, is there anyone who can define what it is to be truly Catholic?
Is being Catholic only going to Mass on Sundays or participating in feasts, events and celebrations in the Church? Is it to pay tithes? Is it to give alms?
These are very good, praiseworthy and holy things – some are even obligatory. However, this would not even remotely constitute the core of Christian life if we did not leave behind those habits that are contrary to it.
Is it really in keeping for he who, claiming to be Catholic, frequents certain places hostile to the life of grace, who does not avert his eyes from scenes opposed to modesty, and is capable of allowing obscene and indecent words to stain his lips? Is this not putting one’s hand to the plough and looking back? Those who act in this way are not fit for the Kingdom of God – it was Jesus himself Who said so (cf. Lk 9:62).
What arises from this is a loss of peace, an inner turmoil of those who desire things that are in opposition to each other. This tension soon spills over into our actions, into our family life and, as a consequence, into the whole of society.
The secret to peace is to be consistent with a right Christian life: to live according to this proper choice that we have made.
We must, therefore, follow the resolution that from now on we will give ourselves entirely to God and honour the Catholic title that we bear, rejecting everything that is not worthy of it. May we never turn our sights to the evil practices we have abandoned, for, as St. Nile says, “repeated glances at what we have left behind make us return to the abandoned custom.”[1]
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
