17 April, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations for Every Day

Easter: The Herald of Peace

1. When Jesus was born in the manger at Bethlehem, the sky became brilliantly aglow and Angels descended singing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of good will." When Our Lord had risen from the dead, He greeted the Apostles with the words: "Peace be to you!" Peace is a gift from God; only He can give real peace. The peace of this world has a certain value, but it is nothing like the genuine and soul-satisfying peace which God can give us. This is why Jesus said to His Apostles: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27) Worldly peace is external and can be disturbed or destroyed by men, but the peace of God is internal and nothing can destroy it except sin. It is possible to be persecuted and slandered and yet to preserve interior peace, as the Martyrs and the Saints did in adversity. It is this inner peace which we must aim at acquiring. We shall be truly content when we have achieved it, because, as St. Thomas says, "the fullness of joy is peace." (Summa, I-II, q. 70, a. 3) St. Thomas defined peace as "tranquillitas ordinis," (Summa, II-II, q. 29, a.1 ad. 1) i.e. "tranquillity of order;" St. Augustine called it "ordinata corcordia," (De Civitate Dei, XIX:13) i.e. "ordered harmony." It is not sufficient for this harmony and order to be established externally among men. It is necessary that this harmony and order should reign first of all in our minds and hearts, and in our actions.

2. For this interior peace to be complete it is necessary that it should exist in our relations with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbour. Peace with God is especially necessary. This involves the subjection of the intellect and will to Him, perfect obedience to His law, the avoidance of sin and the entire surrender of ourselves to Him. When we have prepared ourselves in this way, God will visit us with His grace and we shall experience the joy of inward peace. Jesus came into the world to bring us this peace, which He purchased for us with His Precious Blood, thereby erasing sin and opening the gates of Heaven. So much the worse for us if we destroy the work of God by turning back to sin. We shall no longer be at peace with God, Who hates sin so much that in order to redeem us from it He gave us His only begotten Son, nor with ourselves, because “there is no peace to the wicked.” (Is. 48:22) Remorse and disgust are the necessary results of sin. Let us remember that those who are really content even in this world are those who lead good lives. Whoever extinguishes divine grace in himself destroys the harmony and order which reigned in his soul as a result of the subjection of his passions to right reason and of the subjection of his reason to his Creator and Redeemer. Then, because we are not at peace with God nor with ourselves, we cannot really be at peace with men. It is our faith which teaches us that they are our brothers, redeemed as we have been by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, and that therefore we should always love and assist them.

3. At the close of this meditation let us ask the risen Christ to give us His peace, which is the only true peace. “My peace I give to you.” (John 14:27) Although it comes from Jesus, however, this peace requires an effort on our part also. We must build it up carefully within ourselves with the help of God's grace. The foundations of interior peace must be laid down by controlling our passions, by avoiding the slightest trace of sin, by living the life of prayer and of union with God, by loving God above all things, and by living and working for Him alone.