P.E.A.C.E. Be With You

One time I found myself boiling mad. I was not just angry, I was irate, I was furious. Fortunately it was not a foaming in the mouth, hitting the roof, homicidal, suicidal, ballistic kind of anger. Otherwise I might have lost my sanity. So there I was poised to unleash a venomous outburst of words that had God not intervened would have ended up bumptiously offensive.

As I was just about to start typing on my computer, typhoon Egay struck and we had a brownout. My wife Queenie then said to me, "Let’s pray the rosary" and so we prayed. And in the intervening days, as my wife and I listened to the Lord in our daily prayer time, I could feel the anger in me subside. I could almost hear the hissing sound of a hot iron rod being dipped in a pool of cool water.

And so I say, "Peace be with you..." 

Why? Because I realized that no matter how much we try, conflicts, intrigues, fighting, trials, sufferings, etc. will still be part and parcel of our lives. And yet God has given us a formula that will help us attain peace in spite and despite of chaos. Peace that comes with communing with God through prayer.

In John 14:27 our Lord Jesus tells us, "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid." And further on in John 16:33 "I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world."

In a copy of a Sunday missalette that I once read, the writer referred to this peace as "... not the peace which is based on compromises, bargaining, half-truths, or balance of power... It is [the] peace that tries the human heart, and so can cause pain and division. But is the only kind of peace that lasts..."

Peace is not the absence of problems, it is the presence of God's wisdom that helps us overcome.
Peace is not the absence of hurts, it is the presence of God's love that triumphs over pain.
Peace is not the absence of hardships, it is the presence of God's strength that gives us the victory.
Peace is not the absence of chaos, it is the presence of prayer in our lives.

P.E.A.C.E. = Prayerful Existence Amidst Chaotic Environment

Our prayers bring peace, and peace brings joy and hope, and our hope gives us a cause to rejoice.

Romans 5:1-2 tells us, "Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." In Romans 15:13 we read, "May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit."

St. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians (Phil 4,6-7) said, "May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart."

Indeed, our lives should be more joy than sorrow, more happiness than sadness, more rejoicing than lamentations. It is interesting to note that out of the five vowels of the alphabet, four are used to express varying degrees of positive emotions: laughing (Hahaha), amused (Hehehe), giggling (Hihihi), and jolly (Hohoho), while only one expresses grief (Huhuhu).

We may often find ourselves amidst a chaotic environment but God reminds us always to be joyful and to turn to prayer as an antidote for our troubled hearts. A prayerful existence amidst chaotic environment will help keep us in p.e.a.c.e.