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[…] from this FANTASTIC article that I came across today, which led me to write this blog post. It is by the Catholic Gentleman and it is titled, “THE WAY OF PEACE: FINDING REST IN AN ANXIOUS […]
A blog for Catholic men that seeks to encourage virtue, the pursuit of holiness and the art of true masculinity.
The Way of Peace: Finding Rest in an Anxious World
January 30, 2017
The world is in turmoil. Everywhere, people cry, “peace, peace.” But there is no peace. Our hearts are filled with anger, envy, violence, and anxiety. Every day, a tumultuous and passion-filled torrent of words and emotions gushes forth on the internet and across cable news networks.
We long for rest, for tranquility, but cannot find it anywhere. In their desperation, some would even impose peace by force, by beating their ideological enemies into submission—a bitter paradox if there ever was one.
The upheavals of the world are not random. They are simply a reflection of the emptiness and futile strivings of our own hearts. St. James the Apostle diagnoses the ills of our time:
What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet[and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war.
Our passions are running wild, and they are killing us.
St. Paul’s Prescription
The way of the world is the way of anxiety and death, but the way of the Lord is the way of peace and life. The enemy of our souls is the one who sows enmity and hate and striving against one another. The only solution to the peace of the world is to find peace in our own hearts.
We have a natural tendency to think our own times are the worst that have ever existed. Yet, St. Paul lived in times that were more painful than our own. His whole world was in turmoil, with the Jewish authorities persecuting the burgeoning Church, heresies invading from all sides, and wayward Christians bickering and forming factions. In these trying circumstances, St. Paul labored tirelessly to preach the Gospel, a seemingly impossible task.
Wherever he went, he met adversity. He was relentlessly persecuted, beaten, stoned and left for dead, starved, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and maligned. If anyone had a right to be anxious and discouraged, it was St. Paul.
But that was not his answer. Despite the literal and figurative stormy seas that he encountered, St. Paul was always at peace. In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul outlines his prescription for soul peace in troubled times.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Rejoice Always
The very first thing St. Paul encourages is rejoicing. Be joyful. Let your joy shine from your face. Do not be discouraged or disheartened.
But how, you might ask, can one be joyful when there is so much pain and suffering the world? It is often easier said than done. The answer is simply because we serve a good God who loves mankind, and he has trampled down death by his own death on the Cross. We rejoice because we know that while we are daily surrounded by defeat, we serve Jesus Christ, who defeated defeat by being defeated—and rose victorious to die no more. It is in encountering the risen Christ, most especially in the Eucharist, we experience the joy of his victory.
Rejoicing is not optional for the Christian. In another letter, St. Paul tell us to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you.” Give thanks in all circumstances. Not by finding something positive to be happy about in the mess, though there is nothing wrong with this, but rather giving thanks for the tribulations themselves. This is the sure way to joy and the highest form of thanksgiving. It is only possible by grace. Yet rejoicing, even in trials, is the path to peace.
Second, we are told to be gentle. Gentleness is not much valued in today’s world of swagger and machismo. Violence, both literal and rhetorical, rules the day. But it should never characterize the followers of the Crucified, who should be known for their meekness, humility, and gentleness towards all, espescially those who hate us or despise us—our enemies. Do not return cursing for cursing, no matter how tempting it may be, but rather bless those who malign and persecute you and pray for them, so that you may be truly the children of God, not in word only, but in reality. Peace starts with hearts full of peace, not vengance and retribution.
The third thing St. Paul exhorts us to is prayer. Only in opening our hearts to the Lord God will we find peace. A holy man once said, and I paraphrase, that looking for peace in external circumstances is foolish. They will never truly exist. The only peaceful place on earth is the heart when the Lord is there. It is only in communion with the Prince of Peace in our deepest heart that we will find the peace we so desperately crave.
And how to we come to know Christ? How do we abide in him as the branch abides in the vine? By prayer. “Pray without ceasing,” St. Paul tells us in another place. Prayer is the tuning of the heart to God. The more we grow in the awareness of his presence, the more our hearts will be at peace.
Finally, we are told to fill our minds with what is good and true. So often, we think entertainment is harmless. We believe all the “right” things, so we imagine we can consume whatever we want. This simply isn’t true. In a very real sense, we commune with what we consume. It becomes part of us. Watching endless violence and debauchery on TV is not harmless. Likewise, watching a 24 hour news cycle intent on creating feelings of dread and doom and filled with all the worst humanity has to offer is a quick recipe for anxiety.
St. Paul is clear: Don’t dwell on what is evil. You are taking this knowledge into yourself and it is becoming part of you. Neither can you ever expect to find peace by filling your mind with the horrendous acts that stream across the internet and cable news networks incessantly. Dwell on what is good and holy. Read and watch and consume what will elevate your mind and fill your heart with peace, for you will become what you gaze upon.
Heavenly Solutions for Earthly Problems
St. Paul’s solutions are not the world’s. The world says protect yourself at all costs. Stockpile food and weapons. Scream and riot and smash things. Write scathing editorials and angry polemics. Sign petitions and intimidate. Mock and humiliate. Yet, these false cures will never bring peace—only more emptiness and pain and anxiety. They are a foretaste of hell.
The way of the Lord is the way of peace. Rejoice. Be gentle. Pray. Think on what is good. And the God of peace will be with you always.
More reading: https://www.hmhb.org/anxiety/
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[…] and there is no denying that we are living in times of great turmoil. As it was said in an online article I recently read, though “we have a tendency to think our times as the worst that ever […]
Humility is also key. I find the times I am most anxious are almost always the times I am most prideful.
I could not agree more!
The most important part of the passage in Philippians 4 is verse 6 that tells us to be anxious for nothing. This is the unconditional trust in God that brings us the peace that passes all understanding. 1Peter 5:5-7 tells us: “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”. We rest our minds on Him.
Thank you Sam for another wonderful article. I am posting this on Facebook so that many will read. May God bless you.
Thank you, Mr. Guzman, for this deep and wonderful article.
Sam,
That is what we are looking for, peace. That is why we are moving out where you are. We will be in town in the spring to check things out and find out our best fit for the area. Farming and the contemplative life. Is there a Knights Council at the Abbey?
How does “being gentle” square with MMA?
Thank you I read and love this article.
Great article!
In the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis states clearly on behalf of Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood: “Music and silence – how I detest them both! … [Hell] has been occupied by Noise – Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression that is exultant, ruthless, virile – Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end… The melodies and silence of Heaven will be shouted down in the end.”
How much we have forgotten the beauty of silence.
I echo the sentiment of Joe boole how does being gentle and meek and humble square with MMA? From what I’ve read early bishops of the first centuries banned Christians from going to the gladiator fights because of the violence and the passions that were aroused. I refuse to watch rough, violent “sports” like that because I feel it injures our peace of soul the same way as watching violence on tv does.
Marvelous teaching and wonderful reminders! Thank you so much! My wife found this blog for me, and I have marked it; it is just what I was looking for. And regarding being gentle and humble and applying that to MMA, I hope I have an answer to that. I trained for nearly 30 years in several martial arts, and for years taught a Christian martial arts class at my church. There are martial arts that promote fighting and competition, and they should be avoided, but the ancient martial tradition is, in fact, meditative, gentle, and truly loving. Its intention is to build up all practitioners to make them peaceful interiorly, confident but humble and peaceful, strong and honorable.
A follow up on the MMA question. In the Christian martial arts school I taught, we did have frequent times when the students sparred. We rarely called it fighting, although sometimes we called it that just for fun. Sparring is different from fighting. Our operative Bible verse was Proverbs 27:17–“As iron sharpens iron so does one person sharpen another.” The rule was that when a skilled martial artist sparred with someone less skilled, the one with the greater skill was directed to spar with the other at a level just slightly above the other’s skill level so that the less skilled student would not be overwhelmed nor discouraged, but rather EN-couraged always to do his or her best and get better. Everyone knew that the better student could overwhelm the one who was less skilled, but the point was to get the lesser student to improve. It enjoined humility and control on the senior student, and empowered the junior student. It was like playing a fast game of basketball; it was much fun. Yes, once in a while there were bruises–in fact, often–but I remember with laugh-out-loud joy when a nine-year-old girl got the winning point on me when we were playing a one-point game. I was the one who had to step out, and her eyes were open as big as plates. And when two students of near equal skill faced off, the action would be fast and hard, but always controlled. Someone would come out on top, but it was always fun and always intended to build one another up; hence, Proverbs 27:17. Although someone would come out on top, it was never a matter of someone winning and someone losing. We taught that a real man is a warrior, but never a bully. Sometimes new students came into the school with an attitude of competition or as a bully; they either changed or did not last in the class.