blessed are the peacemakers
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The 7th Beatitude is Blessed are the Peacemakers
If we want peace, then it begins with getting reconciled with God – there is no other way around it.
Pope Benedict writes: “Peace begins with a fundamental decision that St. Paul passionately begs us to make in the name of God: ‘We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.’”2 Cor 5:20
He goes on to say “Enmity (the state of being an enemy of God) is the source of all that poisons man; overcoming this enmity is the basic condition for peace in the world.
Only the man who is reconciled with God can also be reconciled and in harmony with himself, and only the man who is reconciled with God and with himself can establish peace around him and throughout the world.”
If you want peace in the world, then it begins with first being reconciled to God.
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We are all the Gerasene Demoniac
In Mark chapter 5 Jesus and the Apostles reached the country of the Gerasenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and no sooner had he left the boat than a man possessed by a legion of demons confronts Jesus. A legion is more than 5000 demons! Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet and shouted at the top of his voice, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!' For Jesus had been saying to him, 'Come out of the man, unclean spirit'. And Jesus drove the demons into the herd of pigs who rushed down the steep cliffs and were drown. When the people of the vicinity heard about this they came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed, in his full senses and totally at peace. Then Jesus said to the man, 'Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you'. So the man went off and told everyone all that Jesus had done for him. And all were amazed.
I am this man, you are this man, we are all this man. Sooner or later every one of our lives becomes unmanageable and out of control. Only Jesus has to power to restore us to peace. Now realize this, the Gerasene Demoniac did not have to go looking for Jesus – no, Jesus came looking for him. In the same way Jesus is pursuing you – right now – if only you would stop running, sit still, be silent and ask him to take total control of your life. Do that now.
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Sin makes man an enemy of God.
That is a pretty strong statement, but think about it. When we sin we turn away from God. If we make sin a habit, if sin becomes second nature, for that is what a habit is, then our nature is to turn away from or reject God. Pretty straightforward. God never rejects a person. We reject Him. We run from him and keep running.
In the Approved apparition of San Nicolas Argentina that took place in the 1980’s Our Lady said to the visionary: “God's warning is over the world. Those who stay in the Lord have nothing to fear, but those who deny what comes from him do. Two-thirds of the world is lost (in danger of rejecting God and Heaven) and the other part must pray and make reparation for the Lord to take pity. The devil wants to have full domination over the earth. He wants to destroy. The earth is in great danger."
We are all the Gerasene Demoniac! Why is the world out of control – the root cause is sin. Why is my life out of control? The root cause is my sin – because I am living in some way that is disordered.
Jesus is the only one who can restore my life and the world to peace! That is why Jesus waits for us, through the instrument of the priest, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Like the Gerasene Demoniac, Jesus reconciles us to God and then sends us on a rescue mission back to our family and friends.
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Sin will make us restless, but we will find peace in union with God’s will.
My favorite line from Dante’s Divine Comedy is this: “In His will is our peace.”
God designed us. When we live according to our design, to the way God made us, we are most free, happy and totally at peace.
God’s design for us and His will for us are the same thing.
Therefore, the only way to peace of soul is to do and accept the will of God.
And God did not leave us to wonder what His will was. He revealed His will for us in general through the Commandments and the teachings of Jesus found in Scripture and Tradition that is summarized in the Catechism.
God’s will for us in particular is known by a few key things:
The duties and responsibilities of our state in life as a –
▪ Husband, Wife
▪ Parent
▪ Student
▪ Work outside of the Home
▪ Work inside of the Home
▪ Son or Daughter of elderly parents
▪ What other commitments have you made?
▪ Are you sure these other commitments are God’s will?
Our state in life comes with responsibilities that are the will of God for us. How are we doing in these?
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The surest way to know the will of God is through the things we cannot control or change – we could call it “Obedience to Events.”
Good things happen and bad things happen.
The Catechism states: God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it:
If something bad happens we should do all we can to change or correct what is within our control or scope of authority.
But if we can’t change it, then God has allowed it.
If we want peace of soul then we must learn to accept what we did not choose, do not like and cannot change, trusting that God works all things for good for those who love him.