There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains that were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains too, but these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Do you know why? "Because," explained the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace." - Author Unknown
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. - Mother Teresa
If you wish to be brothers, let the arms fall from your hands. One cannot love while holding offensive arms. - Pope Pius VI
The most faithful disciples of Christ have been builders of peace, to the point of forgiving their enemies, sometimes even to the point of giving their lives for them. - Pope John Paul II
I hope...that mankind will at length, as they call themselves reasonable creatures, have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats; for in my opinion there never was a good war, or a bad peace. - Benjamin Franklin
Take the big step. Surrender any "eye for an eye" notions and pray for help in learning to love and forgive the way our Lord taught us.
I implore you to find that quiet place in your home, outside, near the water - wherever you can have ten minutes a day of peace. Seek God and he will find you. Talk to God when he is near.
Ask God in this season of Lent - our time for forgiveness and reconciliation - to open your hearts and minds to discern and follow what he wants you to do each day.
Christ invites each of us to reconcile with those who hurt or disappoint us. It is a call to forgive the stranger who cuts you off in traffic; the family member who has been a bit "too honest"; and, a sibling or friend, who may continue to drive you crazy.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ. Amen.
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