Peace Be With You

Jesus appeared to the Eleven on the evening of his resurrection and addressed them with the words we use daily at Mass, and for which we hunger and thirst: "Peace be with you." (Jn 20:19). Peace is Jesus' Easter gift to the Eleven and to us, but oh, how elusive it is! Last night a friend sent a thunderbolt via e-mail that hit me between the eyes, enough to shock me into action right away. I have often written about this, but never in terms of self-inflicting violence. Without being presumptuous, I thought the following might hit home with many of you who seek soul-nourishment through these daily slices of bread.
"There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence...[and that is] activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.
"To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence.
"The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes our work fruitful." --Thomas Merton.
Wow...Thomas Merton wrote in the '50's and '60's and hit the nail, which is bigger and ever more obvious today, on the head. My friend added the following: "It is important that we take our work and family life seriously, and therefore as well our time for rest, reflection and prayer." If we wish to receive the Easter Gift of Peace, we need to whittle down the scope of our activity, lest we damage ourselves and deprive those whom we are called to serve. Peace be with you this day!
Bro. Rene