"Do not worry about anything, but in everything let your requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4,6-9
Such was Paul’s advice to the first European Christian Community as it struggled into life.
Paul speaks of a "peace" that he says surpasses all understanding.
Jesus also spoke of that 'peace'. He described it as being a peace that the world could never give. He also said that he was offering it as a personal gift to each of us; with some conditions of course.
As I see it, to have sought and achieved that state of peacefulness, in other words to have consciously accepted that gift, is to have found the Holy Grail.
Some years ago I was attending an elderly lady during her final hours in hospital. After the administration of the appropriate Sacraments, we conversed for awhile. She was partially sedated but very clear in her thoughts and in their expression. I asked her, since she knew that death was imminent, if she had any advice for me ...advice that might help me in my life and ministry. This was her response: "Most of my life I have been told that as long as you have your health you have nothing to worry about. I am about to die ...I have no health! But I do have something far more important. I am at peace. I have been blessed with that peace for many months."
That was her message given a few hours before she died.
You know, I can imagine Paul coming back to life and being given a whirlwind tour of our world and then standing before us, saying something like this, "Things look pretty bleak for many of you but don’t worry. Share your concerns with your eternal God and also with Mary, the Crown Jewel of Creation. Love them, praise them, trust in them."
I can hear him saying, "Associate yourselves with the army of Saints who have gone before you; some of whom you have known in this life. And do not ignore the angels in whose care you have been so lovingly placed."
The Kingdom of Heaven is rich with those who love you; pray to them and with them that you too can come to love and think according to the heart and mind of Jesus and thus come to experience the Peace of God which, as I told the Philippians, surpasses all understanding and conquers all fear, all regrets, all anxiety.
All of this can be yours for the asking.
Oh! And, please note: This offer will never expire.
