Lesson 14 Opening Thoughts On the Fruit of Peace: The Devil is the liar, the great deceiver and accuser. He hates you and will make you hate yourself through sin. The devil s weapon is to make us fearful, anxious and depressed. When we are in turmoil, what is our response? If judgment leaps to our lips more readily than welcome, maybe it s time for an attitude adjustment. We need to spend more time with Jesus. God never accuses or turns you away. He loves you and always draws you closer. Jesus proved that sin tends to make us selfish and isolated, putting us in a kind of spiritual quarantine. It convinces us to focus on ourselves instead of the people in our lives. Jesus knew that holiness, not sin, was contagious, especially the outgoing, robust holiness that He displayed. Jesus didn t use sinners as a public example of what not to do; His first words were never words of accusation; He healed, forgave and told them to go and sin no more and showed them the way back to the full life they had forfeited. Every day, Jesus sought wisdom from his Father. Day in and day out, he carved out time for prayer so that he could enjoy companionship with his Father and keep his mission in the forefront of his mind. Here I am, Father. Teach me how to walk in your presence and peace today. Where do you lack Peace in Your life? When we are Angry, Unforgiving, or Disliking someone we are ignoring the Holy Spirit who is in us and we are refusing to listen to His voice. Anxiety destroys; Peace rebuilds Padre Pio and John Paul II message were both the same DO NOT BE AFRAID Our motto is usually It s never too early to start worrying. I start worrying about the next lesson as soon as I walk out the door. The closer I get to the meeting the more I let go and let the Holy Spirit finish it off. We aren t at peace because we don t trust one another nor do we treat one another as Christ has treated us. At the preface of the Mass, the priest asks Jesus to give us His gift of Love & Peace. The risen Christ s first words to the apostles. Peace be with you. My Peace I give you. Christ is the Prince of Peace. Christ be with You. I give you myself for I am peace. Peace is a gift that resides in Jesus. It comes through the Holy Spirit as we learn to Trust the Father as Jesus did. Christ restored peace between God and man in his passion, death and resurrection. Therefore Christ is Peace and Peace is Christ. Peace brings us tranquility and a sense of fulfillment knowing our time is in God s hands. How can we build Peace with God? Obey His Commandments and dedicate Quality time for prayer every day.
How can we build peace with ourselves? Balance prayer, family, work, rest and play. Acknowledge and accept the Good in Yourself. Acknowledge and accept the not so good in yourself and make efforts to co operate with the Holy Spirits grace to correct it. How can we build peace with others? Love everyone. Treat everyone with respect and dignity. Don t use others; serve rather than take from them. Be merciful, forgiving, just and kind. Miracles lift up our hearts and give us a sense of hope and excitement. But miracles without the cross both Jesus and our own cannot produce the kind of transformation that we all long to experience. Jesus wants to work in our lives and that happens as we embrace the call to die to sin and follow Him. We need both the miracles and the cross. Lesson 14 Closing Thoughts: Peace is a profound inner calmness and sense of Awareness of Christ s presence. To obtain peace you must turn toward Christ, connect with him as a friend, always being honest, and trusting in His goodness. We must commit to adequate, quality time for personal prayer and the sacraments. It is the only way to connect to and stay united with God. Pray when you are well for you will find it difficult or impossible when you are sick. Our good works are not more important than prayer. Prayer helps us to handle turmoil without bitterness or undue anxiety. Prayer helps us to accept difficult situations and receive the gift of peace. Prayer is an intimate sharing between friends, it is taking time frequently to be alone with Him who loves us. We must come to God and invite him to clear away all the rubble debris, anxiety and fear in our hearts and minds. We must free ourselves enough to attend to His Presence with openness and love. We must come to God as we are, in our grace and our sin. Be honest with God and yourself. He loves you no matter what you are or do. The same rules that apply to priests apply to us. We can t talk the walk; we have to walk the walk of Christ. The most sought after man on earth was never to busy to pray. No Prayer - No Peace. Some prayer some peace. More prayer More Peace. How much time do I really give to God in my thoughts and recognition? Give five minutes more! And then another five and soon you will have found Peace (Christ) We must let go of trying to control the non-essential parts of our life and embrace the essential parts of loving and living with Christ. It is never easy but we must let go more willingly. We must surrender completely to what God asks of us. In this abandonment to God we will find redemption and life; peace and joy in the midst of suffering. TRUST in God s Providence, place everything in his hands. Make the best of every situation knowing that somehow God will make it all work out. This will free us to live healthy lives with peace in our hearts and souls. We must have a desire to be constantly reconnecting through reconciliation with God, ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Reconciliation is the work of God. It is a manifestation of His love, forgiveness and healing. First it allows victims to be restored to value; then it allows the wrong doer to be restored to value. Christ was the ultimate victim God used to reconcile the world to HIM. It creates space for truth, justice, healing and new possibilities. It reconnects us to God, to ourselves and to the community. It is as simple as that. If we were to take time for the Lord each day, even just ten minutes, we would find ourselves more peaceful and more focused. We would find ourselves open to God s direction and guidance.
We would find ourselves calmer in tense situations and better equipped to overcome the distractions of fears or anxieties that come our way. Relationships with God, ourselves and others can bring joy and peace when we: Repent, Reconcile, Respond to the grace offered by the Holy Spirit and accept the peace and joy that comes with living with him, in him and through him. Four steps to bring Peace as we act like Christ Mercy, Forgiveness, Justice and Kindness. Somehow It All Works Out Lesson 14 Questions and Answers What are the three dimensions that help us find God s peace? The peace found in building a closer relationship with God. The peace found within us, the inner peace of soul, heart and mind. The peace found in our relationships with our brothers and sisters. What four steps can we take to build peace in our lives? Make a wrong relationship right. Act justly. Seek only what is good. Walk humbly before God and others. How can I build peace with God, myself and others? God Obey His Commandments, Contemplate His Word, Spend Quality Time with God Myself Balance Prayer, Family, Work, Rest and Play in your life. Accept the good in yourself. the bad in your self and make plans to correct it. Others Be merciful, forgiving, just and kind. Recognize What three challenges have to be overcome to receive the gift of Christ s peace? - Being to busy to Pray. - Give up trying to be in control; instead let go and let God lead you & trust in His Providential care. - Reconciliation with God, yourself and others. How can Mary lead us to Christ s peace? Mary, as Christ s mother and the Queen of Heaven and earth can intercede for us with her Son that He may bestow his gift of peace on each one of us. Learn from Mary how to welcome the Child born of her, the Eternal Son of God and learn to accept him as our one Savior, we can be called and we really are children of God: sons in the Son. Mary is our support and guide. By learning from Mary, we can understand with our hearts what our eyes and minds do not manage to perceive or contain on their own. This is such a great gift that only throught Faith are we granted to accept it, while not entirely understanding it. Mary comes to meet us on this journey of faith and acts as our support and guide. Using the following passages, describe the foundation of our lasting peace. Romans 5:1-2: 1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
The foundation and source of peace is Jesus Christ.Christ shares it with us through His Gift of Faith to us. When we respond to the Gift of Faith with faithfulness and follow Christ s teaching, we are saved by his redemption and come to share in the ultimate peace of God our Father & Creator. Colossians 1:19-20: 19For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven. Jesus is God who came to reconcile man with God and through his perfect sacrifice on the cross receive the fullness of God s peace for humankind and to pass that peace onto all who believe. (b) How could the Sacrament of Reconciliation bring you more peace in your relationship with God? When we make ourselves right with Jesus we are right with God. When we are in righteousness, we share in God s Peace which is given to us through Christ, the Great Reconciler. The sacrament of Reconciliation frees us from the constraints and unrest of sin and restores our union with God, which is the soul s ultimate desire. It also helps us, through its sacramental grace, to guard against future temptations toward sin. 2. What advice can you glean from the following passages that will help you to grasp and maintain the peace God provides? The peace of God is borne from our trust in God and His love for us. When we come to this understanding, we surrender ourselves tohis loving embrace and care, which is all-encompassing and true. God will then provide His Holy Spirit to allay our fears. When we follow his commands, which are based on love of God and love of neighbor, we will grow in virtue and the ways of Christ. Christ s way is a way peace, harmony and love. Isaiah 26:3: 3With firm purpose you maintain peace; in peace, because of our trust in you. God is the source of peace and in order to receive and know his peace we must place complete TRUST in his Mercy, Love and Providential care for us Philippians 4:6-7: 6Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. 7Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. If we are constantly grateful for Christ s blessing and give Him thanks and praise in word and deed for these blessings, then He will hear our prayers and petitions and His love will drive out our fear and anxiety and fill our minds and hearts with Christ s presence who is Peace. Philippians 4:8-9: 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you. Peace will be with us when we act like Jesus acted. Jesus is Peace and when we act like Him we are transformed into a saint sharing in His life and therefore His Peace. Seek to act with Truth, Virtue, Justice, Purity, love, graciousness and excellence.
3. Peace is often disturbed by fear, either real or imagined. 'What are some typical circumstances where you find your inner peace frequently disturbed? Try to identify the cause of the apprehension as well as the circumstance. Fears can range from the fear of bodily or emotional harm or the fear of pain, suffering, humiliation and abandonment. We are also prone to the fear of the unknown, which many times lead to prejudicial behavior. Most of our fear stems from our lack of faith and trust in God deep down in our hearts. We may say we trust in his providential care but when we lose our job, are attacked by family/friends, are persecuted for our belief, then we experience fear and anxiety. The devil s weapon is to make us fearful he will tell you God doesn t exist; he doesn t care about you. Fear is the opposite of Love. Fear comes from hatred and unrest in our soul. Love comes from the Presence of God s Peace. Christ came to agive us Himself. He is Love that we may know deep in our souls and heats that we are God s children and His brother and are meant to dwell in Joy and Peace with the Father and the Spirit in the glory and fullness of God. 4 (a) How does Paul (Romans 14:13-19) urge church members to resolve the issue? If you love your brother you will not continue to do something which hurts him. Serve your brother as Christ would by letting the Holy Spirit fill you with his righteousness, peace and joy. Paul encourages the faithful to respond from the heart with love and concern for our fellow man. We should not allow the mechanics of faith to become a barrier to our love. All things must be done out of love, for God is love. (b) What does he say "makes for peace and for mutual up building" (verse 19)? We need to pursue acts which lead to peace. We must perform acts of love and virtue by cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit s Gifts and Fruits. These acts of virtue promote harmony, which is consistent with God s plan for His people. Harmony promotes unity or a building-up of the Kingdom of God. Discontent, fear and hatred are the tools of the devil and are divisive and destructive to the building up of the Kingdom. (c) Is there a difficult situation you face, whether at work, at home, or in your parish, where you could "walk in love" (verse 15), as St. Paul advises, and bring peace and resolution? No matter the situation, you can bring peace and resolution when you act as Christ would act with Love, compassion, forgiveness and charity, trusting in the Holy Spirit to provide his gifts and fruits and being willing to cooperate with these graces. Peace comes when we let Christ be with us, in us and work through us. 5. In what ways do you most need to grow in peace in your relationship with God, in your relationship with others, or within your own heart and mind? We need to grow in all three relationships, but all relationships must begin with God. Union with God will bring a desire to have a peaceful, loving relationship with others; and, seeking unity with others always brings peace and harmony to oneself. God s grace (the divine life within us) will necessarily drive usto love others and to seek what s best for others, ahead of ourselves.