+ On this first weekday mass after the entire Christmas / Lenten
Easter Cycle – returning to green-vestmented “ordinary time”
– we are reminded in the first reading, from the letter of St. James, that the “fruit
of righteousness,” the fruit of “right living” is “sown in peace for those who
cultivate peace.” This is the entire theme of the above mentioned cycles:
PEACE. Jesus came forth from the Father to restore peace, where there was
chaos; to restore friendship with God, where there was willful alienation by
disobedience; to restore eternal life, where there was the necessity of eternal
death. The Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ was o so powerful, meritorious
and “peace-producing.” This is why Jesus’ first word to the Apostles,
frightened and hiding in the Upper Room after Good Friday – was “Peace!” Peace. fellas, I understand! But there is no
need to be afraid any longer, there is every reason now to be filled with my
peace, the deep, abiding, inner peace that only living in me can produce. Sow
peace, now, among my brothers and sisters throughout the entire world. And
teach them to, above all, cultivate that peace in all they do.
It is not easy in a world
where the devil and the demons are still quite active, to find real peace, where
a different brand of peace is promulgated: the base satisfaction of shallow and
unsubstantial desires. Prayer and fasting
can drive out these demons as Jesus relates in the gospel passage, but the
idea is to not let such temptations and distractions even to catch our eye in
the first place. This we do by staying focused – moment by moment – throughout the
day on the Cross of Christ – its immense power and salvific action – that is
always available for the asking! Jesus, I
love you! Jesus, I adore you! Jesus, I trust you! and thanks for making peace,
real peace available to us all – now for the asking!
Let
the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O
Lord, my rock and my redeemer!
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