Shalom

Dear Parishioners,

Peace, shalom, mir, pax.

When Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room after His resurrection, he offered them peace.  

. . . Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. [Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you”. . . (Jn. 20: 19b-21a) 

If anyone could have rightly inflicted vengeance or retaliation on those who harmed Him, Jesus is top of the list. However, He showed us all another way.

Peace is not just an absence of war or conflict. When a Jewish person greets someone or bids farewell, he or she might typically use the word shalom. The word means much more than simply a greeting of peace. Shalom may mean completeness, soundness, safety, welfare, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, and/or friendship. It comes from the Hebrew verb shalam, which means to be complete, sound or whole.

 

In the world today we find many people who do not have peace in their lives. Beyond those who live in war-torn countries or areas with great civil unrest like Ukraine or Israel, we find people who are sometimes angry, mean-spirited, hateful, deeply troubled, confused, anxious, chaotic, etc., —anything but peaceful.

People search for peace, happiness and fulfillment in various ways. Sometimes it is wealth, material possessions, physical pleasure, power, authority, various thrills, etc. Worldly things, however, do nothing to fill the deepest desires of the human heart that only God can fill. What was it that St. Augustine said long ago in his Confessions? You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.

I am convinced that true and lasting peace comes from a right relationship with the Lord. The world cannot give this kind of peace.  It is simply impossible.  Why could Christian martyrs sing on the way to their deaths?  How can some people bear tremendous crosses in life without really complaining?  How do some people seem so confident and unafraid in the midst of extremely difficult or troubling situations?  I suspect it may have something to do with an interior peace and even a joy that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It comes from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit working within us. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians . . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control. (Gal. 5:  22-23)

The world is a scary place to live in right now. Unfortunately, it will never achieve a true and lasting peace without the realization that Almighty God must be the source of it. Not a false god who seeks retaliation, revenge or utter elimination of one’s enemy, but someone who challenged His followers to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them (See Mt. 5: 44).  Supernatural grace is needed.

My prayer is that the world and each of you may know the true and lasting peace that the Lord Jesus is offering us!  Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (Jn. 14: 27) 

Shalom!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Peace on Earth

Dear Parishioners,

Perhaps you might receive a Christmas card with the inscription Peace on Earth. When Christ was born, there was period of relative peace known as the Pax Romana throughout the known world.  The power and might of the Roman Empire and its army allowed for a temporary period of peace.  However, where is the great Roman Empire now?  Its eventual collapse came from within as the moral fiber of the society eventually disintegrated.

Our world is in desperate need of peace.  We are all too familiar with the continuing war in Ukraine.  However, a simple computer search for a list of current wars/conflicts throughout the world would probably shock you. Most of the time we simply are not informed about various matters around the globe.  Yet they continue.  How then can we achieve a true and lasting peace?

We call Christ the Prince of Peace.  I suggest that His Gospel message needs to take deep root in our hearts.  We have heard much about radicalization in the news.  Jesus' message is one of love, forgiveness, mercy and peace.  Christians and all people of good will should know that war, violence, hatred, revenge, terrorism, and the murder of innocents is never the ultimate answer.

While there are those who find little time for prayer or may even mock it, I think prayer is the means by which we will find a solution to our world (as well as individual) problems.  A return to God and a more complete discipleship to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the only way we are going to have true and lasting peace.  Jesus did not die on the cross so that everything that He said and did would come to naught.  Every subsequent generation must heed His Gospel message, be converted, and allow the Gospel to be deeply rooted in the heart.  It is Jesus who will transform hatred into love and offer us true peace now as he did then.

My hope and prayer is for a better world in which we no longer live in fear.  No one likes to be barraged in the news with stories of an unstable world, hatred and violence.  I am not so idealistic or naïve to think that we should not remain vigilant and prepared in this sometimes frightening world.  Yet, if we want to see things change for the better and not just let this be a bunch of rhetoric, then we will need Divine assistance and a determined commitment on our part to be faith-filled disciples of Jesus.

I am a firm believer that God's patience and mercy are directed toward our salvation. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) God often works slowly and ever so subtly. May we have the resolve to embrace the cross of Jesus, to accept His mercy while we are still able, and to do our part to build up the Kingdom of God.  Then we will experience His true and lasting peace.  

As Advent comes to a close, please use the remaining time to prepare your minds and hearts for the Lord’s birth, for His return in glory and for the coming of His Kingdom.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor