After praying to be delivered from all evil, we now pray more specifically for the grace of peace and unity to be granted to the Church as the celebrant says:
Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you; look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.
The beginning of this prayer is taken directly from Jesus’s Last Supper Discourse, as He speaks about the coming of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. There is an important line that Jesus says immediately after the promise of His peace, where He says: “Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (Jn 14:27)
What do we do when our peace is disturbed? When we feel the burden of our sins, the consequences of things that we have done or have had done to us, or the unease of feeling out of sorts, where do we turn? We often start with the many worldly outlets in order to try to reclaim peace. We might get up and step outside for a walk or get some exercise of some sort. We might call a friend to take our mind off of our current troubles. More dangerously, we may turn to things that work to distract us, such as food or drink. These days, more often than not, we pull out our phone and start scrolling mindlessly. We do anything to avoid that uncomfortable feeling of a lack of peace. Only after we have run out of options do we turn to God as though He is a last resort.
But the Lord is inviting us to turn to Him first for peace, and His peace is wholly different from what all of these worldly things promise. Sure, they may give us some relief and produce calm, but simply feeling peace is not the peace that the Lord wants to give to us. His peace is much deeper than just a feeling. The peace He gives is the assurance that He is indeed with us, that despite the chaos that surrounds us, He is there with His loving presence to strengthen us and guide us.
One of the greatest ways in which the Lord restores our peace is through the Sacrament of Penance. I was struck a few years ago with the words that the priest says in the words of absolution, just before the essential words. He prays that the Lord will grant the penitent “pardon and peace.” When people come to confession, they feel a lack of peace due to their sins, and it can be difficult to confess their faults. But after their sins have been wiped away, a remarkable change takes place. Peace is restored, and the peace is often very tangible as they leave the confessional. Sure they may feel more peaceful, but the Lord has given them an even more profound peace by drawing them into deeper intimacy with the Trinity, where the love of God guards the peace of His presence.
As we prepare for our reception of Holy Communion in just a few moments, Jesus is promising to give us this same gift of peace. He comes to dwell in us through the Eucharist and He brings His peace, a peace that reminds us that whatever burdens we may be feeling in our lives at that moment, the Lord is there. He wants to strengthen us with His grace to face those challenges with the peace of knowing we do not have to solve those problems alone. We might say that with the Eucharist, the Lord is granting us “nourishment and peace.” Just because we may not feel that peace in the same way as after going to confession does not mean that that same peace is not there, and for that, we should be most grateful.
Here is a challenge that I would like offer to you this week. Try to notice how often you turn to worldly things to try to combat the lack of peace in your daily life. Instead of turning first to your phone or some other distraction, turn to the Lord. Let yourself hear Jesus making the same promise He made to His Apostles at the Last Supper: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (Jn 14:27)
Father Alford