This world was once a garden of peace. Man was at peace with God and at peace with his mate. But sin entered the world and man declared war against God. He forfeited the peace he had been guaranteed and aligned himself with the prince of darkness in battle. That conflict with God created conflict in the human heart. This conflict quickly erupted into conflict with our fellow man. Cain and Abel went to war. Murder ensued and man has been at war with God and at war with man ever since. But, there is Good News. This Good News is the gospel of peace. It has been given to peacemakers. (RUSSELL KELFER)
The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others, and to preserve peace between God and man. St. Gregory of Nyssa calls a peacemaker a man who brings peace to another; but one cannot give another what one does not possess oneself. Hence the Lord wants you first to be yourself filled with the blessings of peace and then to communicate it to those who have need of it. By imitating God’s love of man, the peacemakers become children of God.