“Peace be with you/La paz sea con vosotros,” Jesus greets the men and women hiding in the upper room on Easter Sunday: before sending us into a world rift with hate, violence, and despair, Jesus gives us peace enabling us to be peace among chaos.
“Blessed are the peacemakers/Felices los que trabajan por la paz,” Bishop Rojas began his column last month in the Inland Catholic Byte. In using the Sermon on the Mount he was showing that “Jesus gives a beautiful distinction to those who strive to make peace in the world.”
The reality of war gives us pause but, as Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B., observes, peace isn’t simply the absence of war. “Real peace requires resistance to evil. But not in evil ways. This kind of peacemaking requires courage, not power; a kind of strength that uses love rather than force to change the world,” she continues. This is the Easter story, this is the Beatitudes in action.
When we “stop defining peace as the absence of war and start defining it as the presence of God,” as Chittister asks, we will see peace is possible. “At the basis of peace is respect for the traditions, cultures, gifts, and good intentions of the other,” she said. “The greatest instrument of peace is language. When our words are kind—however difficult the message may be—peace is possible.”
This brings us back to Bishop Rojas who encourages us to be “those peacemakers that Jesus names in the Beatitudes.” This Easter season, through the Beatitudes, we can work to make the Christian message real—we can bring love where pain is.
Showcasing SHA talent: Norah in 4th shows the Easter story in all its glory.
God Bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister
5th Grade Aide