John 14:27-31
‘Peace I bequeath to you,
my own peace I give you,
a peace the world cannot give,
this is my gift to you.
‘Oh, sister, it’s so peaceful here in the monastery.’ We hear this very often and, of course, there is a good deal of truth in this. We are a low stimulus environment, with things ordered as well as they can be. The rhythm of the liturgy plays a very important part in creating the peace that people feel when they visit. Hail, rain or shine we gather to pray the psalmody. Monastics have this remarkable ability to carry on with the liturgy even if there has been some ‘outside’ disturbance; loud rain, a low flying aircraft or even a power cut won’t put us off. It’s almost as if we have a collective inner equilibrium.
St Benedict puts a great deal of store by the peace and good order of the monastery. In his Chapter On the Cellarer he urges his monks to make their requests to the cellarer reasonable and at the proper times. The job can be demanding and touches all areas of monastery life. St Benedict makes wise provision:
If the community is rather large, he should be given helpers, that with their assistance he may calmly perform the duties of his office. Necessary items or to be requested and given at the proper times, so that no one may be disquieted or distressed in the house of God.
What Benedict seems to be saying is that everyone has a part to play in creating a peaceful environment.
When Jesus speaks of peace, he speaks of it as a gift. This gift is to be internalised. You can’t force someone to receive a gift. A person needs to pick it up and make it their own in some way. Jesus waits for us each to do this. Much like Benedict’s monks, we can help each other ‘so that no one may be disquieted or distressed in the house of God.’
How can you bring Christ’s peace to others today?