I’m new to Brown. But I’ve heard that Brown students intend to change the world, to
create a more just and peaceful society. They want to right all these distorted and unjust relationships within society. This intention comes up in discussions on elections, race, economics, environmental concerns, and the current social turmoil in the United States.
But how, exactly, is such a peace to be brought about? We’re inundated with images of violence and instability. It seems like a lot to tackle. Where does one start in changing
the world?
We must acknowledge that peace is first an internal reality. If we don’t have peace in
our souls, how can we hope to give it to others? We’ve all seen anxious people try to
fix things. The results are either hilarious, tragic, or both. Only after achieving some (it’s never perfect) interior peace, can we succeed in changes outside ourselves. It’s easy to see the absence of peace in the world. It comes into your news app. But it’s harder to
see an absence of peace within us. For that, we need the mirror of a relationship with
God. In establishing peace with Him, we can begin to have success in communicating
that peace to others. Peace is all about a right relationship: with God, with ourselves,
and with others. Peace spreads from the inside out.
We only achieve this (I’ve only achieved this) imperfectly. Such achievement takes patience: a scarce resource in early 2021. Peace, looked at this way, is not new. You
can find it in Fr. Jacques Phillipe, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Paul. Maybe this is one purpose of the chaplains: to help others remember what they already know, and apply
that knowledge in our own tumultuous times.
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 4:7)
