Sixth Sunday of Easter

Dear Parishioners,

    “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give it to you.”  What does this curious statement mean?

    When we think of peace we think of an absence of conflict.  We think of all turmoil being gone from our life.  But obviously Jesus does not speak of this kind of peace. As he says, my peace is not the world’s peace.

    Perhaps the feasts we will commemorate the next two weekends give us a clue as to what Jesus could mean.  Next week we will remember the Ascension of Jesus.  The following week we will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he wished his disciples his peace.  The peace came with an injunction. He told his apostles to go out into the whole world to proclaim the Gospel.  This led to a lot of struggle in their lives as they took up this challenge. 

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down upon the first church members.  The Spirit pushed them into the streets to preach and to witness about their faith in Jesus Christ.  The peace Jesus gives is not a personal gift that puts us at ease.  No, the Spirit is a personal gift that causes us to look around us for those who need to hear the good news of Jesus.  We share our faith whenever we can. 

Pope Francis reminds us constantly that the church is not a maintenance project, but we as a church are on a mission.  We are helping others get to know Jesus by our words and actions. 

This is the type of peace Jesus gives to us.  Peace comes when we are fulfilling our purpose in this world.  Our purpose is not just to take care of our own soul.  Our purpose is to take care of our neighbor’s soul as well.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark