“There is no peace in many hearts which vainly strive to make up for their intranquility of soul by continuous activity, by seeking a thin satisfaction in things which do not fill them but only leave a bitter aftertaste of sorrow.” (Saint Josemaría)
Life every day is a battle for peace that needs to be won. We encounter all aspects of life every day, even if we have that utmost desire to face a tiny few and not everything crumbling at once. But as time passes by, you realize: that’s life.
Coming across these lines of our Father I cannot help but think of the numerous if not countless times that I failed to put my day together because of the many surprises in store for me. And that’s how I’d like to frame it.
As my tocayo asked, and I paraphrase, are we open to the good surprises of God? He only provides one reason for this: because God loves us and desires only our good.
The only reason why we feel upset is that we don’t think what we are provided for is good for us, that we have a different, perhaps negative idea of what is good compared to what is truly, really good for us.
And with countless people who feel this way, “intranquility of the soul” occurs. We truly feel that “bitter aftertaste” in our lives. And this is the question we have to answer and demand ourselves from in this sacred time.
I am in awe when walking around the streets and malls I’ve been to in the past week and witnessing how many people have strayed away from what is true and good.
At the same time, that same fervor and vibration to reach the very many people who can be tapped to join the choral of “dona nobis pacem” — how I desire every day, for one day it becomes a reality.
I fear the day — and I don’t deny it becoming true really soon — that we’ll be forced into hiding with our pearl of great price, however, what a consolation it is to consider that a lamp can never be lit and be placed under a bushel.
What a strange thing it is how not just things but people have become topsy-turvy. There are really many things to be questioned — no peace in short.
