This week, the daily readings tell us of the peace that is
to come when the Messiah is born for us.
Even on Monday, when we celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we heard themes of peace and harmony in
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. And Gabriel
bid Mary “Do not be afraid.” In other
words, let your mind be at peace. In
Wednesday’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus tells the crowds, and so tells
us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Be peaceful and rest in God’s presence. In Saturday’s first reading from the book of
Sirach, the author says of Elijah, “You were destined, it is written, in time
to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the
hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.” He was destined to restore a broken world to
the harmony it once had.
The angel Gabriel, Jesus, and the author of Sirach are all
giving us the same message in a sense:
Trust in God, in His all-knowing wisdom, and in His plan for our
lives. He knows what is best for us, and
He will not lead us astray. Be at peace,
and trust that all will be well.
It may seem difficult to pray for peace at times like these
when the world is divided by conflict and disagreement, but we must continue to
trust that God has a plan, and ultimately, better days lie ahead. Nevertheless, we must continue to pray for
peace, in our hearts, in our families, in our country, and in our world. God wants us to ask for things, even though
He knows all that we need. It is in
turning to Him, in placing our trust in Him that we can find true inner peace.
Theme for Next Week: Joy
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