One of the most beautiful texts read in Advent is in continuity with the above moral-theological trajectory, involving the coming of the messianic king: ‘For a son has been born for us, a son has been given to us and dominion has been laid on his shoulders; and this is the name he has been given, ‘Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace’. His rule will be great and there will be no end of peace for the throne of David and his kingdom, secure and established in fair judgement and righteousness’. (Isaiah 9:5-6) Hearing this prophecy of ‘Immanuel – God with us’, we hang on to the hope that the justice and peace of God’s reign will be extended throughout the earth. Christmas proclaims ‘Immanuel’, the presence of God in the infant Jesus, whose mission embodies the ‘Reign of God’, empowering the church to extend its promise of peace to embrace all peoples in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Saint Paul attributes the hope of universal peace to Christ, uniting Jews and Gentiles: ‘For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into a single unit, in his flesh dissolving the dividing wall of enmity…so that by making peace he might form the two into one new Man in himself…remember that you were without Christ, alien to the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far off have been brought close, by the blood of Christ…so that by making peace he might form the two into one new Man in himself’…By his coming he proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near’ (Ephesians 2:14-18).The repetition of ‘by making peace’ between both the personification and proclamation of peace in Christ, the fivefold reference to ‘peace’, reinforces our hope in the reassurance of Christ’s words, ‘Peace I leave to you, my own peace I give you, not as the world gives do I give to you’ (John 14:27).
In his ‘Encyclical’ Fratelli Tutti – On Fraternity and Social Friendship, Pope Francis wrote: ‘In many parts of the world, there is a need for paths of peace to heal open wounds. There is also a need for peacemakers, men and women prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter’.[1] He went on to assert that ‘there is an “architecture” of peace, to which different institutions of society contribute, each according to its own area of expertise, but there is also an “art” of peace that involves us all.’[2]
A Prayer for Peace
God our Father, peace is the environment in which you exist in heaven, the effect of your eternal glory. This state of supreme serenity is like a space where your light shines permanently, without any shadow or subtraction. This atmosphere attracts us always, answering our deepest desire to be drawn into the depths of your peace and dwell there. Teach us how to discern the presence of your peace amidst the distractions and demands, difficulties and dangers of daily life. Father, as Jesus your Son showed us, your peace is not a private possession, preserved within the precinct of heaven: may the Holy Spirit pour out peace upon us, make peace between us, taking away all anxiety and anger, avarice and aggression.
Kevin O’Gorman SMA
[1] Fratelli Tutti, Dublin, Veritas, 2020, Par. 225.
[2] Ibid., Par. 231.