Easter testifies to the power of the cross: in today’s Gospel. Jesus promises peace to His disciples, a peace distinct from the world. Jesus’ peace, we hear, quells troubled and fearful hearts everlasting. As we consider the disciple’s lot, and our own, perhaps everlasting peace is the single most important gift of the Resurrection.
Surely we know anxiety, and our world lies in tension, particularly in places of great political, social, and familial strife. Yet, the good news of John’s testimony is that in the triumph of the cross, peace will be the final word.
What a timely message to lean into this Easter. Surely, this truth is on the mind of our Holy Father, invoking St. Francis and his peaceful embodiment of the Christ-life for his pontifical title. And as an Easter people, all faithful are invited to trust all the more in this peace of our Christ.
In this place of deepening trust, we join with Jesus to more earnestly work toward this promise of peace, bringing justice to all peoples.
Am I asking for this deepening grace of trust this Easter, that despite the evidence otherwise, I believe more fully in this peace promise of the Risen Christ? And in this place of deeper faith, am I more emboldened to work with Jesus towards its fulfillment?
—Matthew Couture, Provincial Assistant for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education, Chicago-Detroit Province and Wisconsin Province