2/77.3 My Peace I Give You

Christ is our peace.[2051] For twenty centuries he has been saying to us: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you. He wants each of us to proclaim this to the whole world, by the way we live; to the world in which we live, even if at times it may seem rather small.

The life of the first Christians helped many to discover the meaning of their existence. They brought peace to their families and to the society in which they lived. In many inscriptions from that period we find greetings with which they desire peace to others. This peace – which is from God – will be found on earth as long as there are men and women of good will.[2052] A significant part of our apostolate will be bringing serenity and joy to the people around us; the more anxiety and sadness we meet, the more urgent this apostolate of ours will be. Every Christian has the duty to bring peace and joy to his own surroundings on earth. This cheerful crusade of manliness will move even shriveled or rotten hearts, and raise them to God.[2053]

Even though in life they suffered trials and tribulations as others do, every Christian should be remembered as a man or woman who gave an example of smiling self-sacrifice, a serene, cheerful person, because he or she lived as a child of God. Our resolution from today’s prayer could be the following: May no one read sadness or sorrow in your face, when you spread in the world around you the sweet smell of your sacrifice: the children of God should always be sowers of peace and joy.[2054] This is possible only when we remember our divine filiation.

Remembering that we are children of God will give us that solid peace, which isn’t disturbed by the ups and downs of our emotions or the events of the day: it will give us the serenity and steadiness which we need so much. To ensure that we are open and friendly to everyone, we need to stamp out any kind of antipathy or animosity; it would indicate that we were not very supernatural in our dealings with others. We also need to fight against any roughness or sharpness in our character, which could upset others and would indicate that we were not sufficiently mortified. We need to fight against selfishness, against softness and against love of comfort. These are serious obstacles to friendship and to effectiveness in the apostolate.

The sincere desire for peace which Our Lord has placed in our hearts should urge us to do everything possible to avoid anything that might cause disunity or conflict – for example, being critical of others or having a negative attitude towards them, talking about people behind their backs or complaining about them.

Let us have recourse to Mary, our Mother, so that we may never lose our joy and our serenity. Mary is the Queen of peace, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing. Call to her by this title: ‘Regina pacis, ora pro nobis’ – Queen of peace, pray for us. have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm? You will be surprised at its immediate effect.[2055]