Earlier this month, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, requested that Catholics gather for a
holy hour this month to pray for renewal in the United States and in people’s
hearts in the midst of the “current climate of fear and polarization”.
Bishop Malesic echoed this request and asked that each
parish hold a holy hour for peace. So, we gather before the Blessed Sacrament seeking
peace at its source — in Jesus Christ.
“Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”
St. James reminds us in the first reading that violence, disorder,
and division come from within: from jealousy, selfish ambition, and bitterness.
These things tear apart families, communities, and nations. Peace is not built
first by treaties or policies, but by conversion of heart.
Pope St. John Paul II taught, as we will hear later in this
holy hour, the Eucharist forms us into a people capable of building a more
human and peaceful world. In our encounter with the one who IS peace—Jesus Christ—in
opening our hearts to him, bringing to him our divisions and strife—and the
disorders in our own hearts—we find healing and conversion.
“As we kneel before the Lord, we certainly bring to him all
the needs of our nation and our world — to help us work through our
polarization — knowing that true unity cannot be forced from the outside, but
must grow from hearts united to Christ. Here in the Eucharist, the Lord draws
us into communion with himself and with one another, forming us into a people
capable of reconciliation and peace.
The Lord invites each of us to ask: Where is there
division in my own heart? Where do resentment, anger, hatred, or fear still
remain? The peace of Christ comes to dwell in those who allow Christ
overcome these things in their own hearts.
Working for peace and justice can also take a toll on us. We
know from experience how easy it is to become discouraged — to grow weary when
progress seems slow, when divisions remain, or when efforts to do good are
misunderstood or rejected. Even sincere efforts for justice can leave us
drained, frustrated, or tempted toward bitterness. Without a deeper source of
strength, the work of peace can exhaust the human heart.
But the Lord does not ask us to carry this burden alone. In
the Eucharist we encounter the One who gave himself completely for the life of
the world. Here we come not as activists relying on our own strength, but as
disciples who receive strength from him. In his presence we are reminded that
the work of peace is first God's work before it is ours. He is the one who
heals hearts, reconciles enemies, and renews the world — often in quiet and
hidden ways that we may not immediately see.
Before the Blessed Sacrament, we learn again the patience of
Christ. We learn that peace grows slowly, like a seed planted in the soil,
often unseen at first but destined to bear fruit. The Lord calms our anxieties,
steadies our hearts, and restores the hope that allows us to continue the work
he has entrusted to us.
And so this holy hour is not a pause from the work of peace,
but part of the work itself. By coming into the presence of Christ, we allow
him to renew our charity, purify our intentions, and strengthen our resolve.
Refreshed by his grace, we engage with our families, our workplaces, not with
resentment or fatigue, but with the quiet strength that comes from knowing that
his grace is already at work in the world for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls.
