The Pilgrim Log

Weekly Inspiration to Live Your Daily Pilgrimage

Finding Jesus’ Peace Today

May 3, 2021/0 Comments/in Blog, Living Catholicism /by Angela Sealana

What do you think of when you hear the word “peace”? A carefree day? A family without disagreements? The absence of war or political conflict?

Recently, I was both greatly challenged and encouraged when I discovered Jesus’ definition of “peace.”

Appearing to the disciples after his Resurrection, “he stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Luke 24:36) This was not simply a greeting.

Before Jesus’ death, he had instructed his disciples that his peace was not the common secular peace – Pax Romana; absence of war. He said:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)

In the Hebrew language, the word for peace is “shalom.” Shalom denotes wholeness or completeness. Jesus’ shalom is a mutual agreement between persons; not a lack, but a positive presence of serenity. Shalom is a blessing; it is God’s grace made manifest.

If we’re paying attention, we shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus’ peace doesn’t refer to a lack of concern or conflict. The Prince of Peace spent his days precisely with those who experienced difficult situations, and he himself entered into great suffering and death.

Fruit of the Spirit

As Jesus’ followers, then, how can we be truly and sincerely “at peace”, while division occurs all around us?

To pursue peace as Jesus did is not something we can do on our own. Scripture teaches that peace is a “fruit of the Spirit.” Peace is a fruit – or a sign, that God’s Spirit is present.

The key is this; God’s Spirit is a gift to be received. Jesus taught that our ability to have an exchange and shalom with God is contingent on our being reconciled with others.

“If you bring your gift to the altar,” Jesus taught, “and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

The early Christian St. Cyprian summarized plainly;

“God does not accept the sacrifice of a sower of disunion, but commands that he depart from the altar so that he may first be reconciled with his brother. For God can be appeased only by prayers that make peace. To God, the better offering is peace, brotherly concord, and a people made one in the unity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

In short: The key to peace is in our will, our heart, from our own choice; to bind and loose the bonds of forgiveness and unforgiveness of those who offend us.

“It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2843).

Experience True Peace

When we are wounded or offended by others, it hurts! We may want to build up our walls and protect ourselves (fear), or perhaps heap injury on those who hurt us so that they will understand what we feel (trouble). Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled or afraid.” When we embrace or act on these thoughts or feelings, our will – our heart – is no longer united with God’s.

God wills good for everyone. “He causes the sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)

For us to experience peace, we must choose to will our offenders good and not evil. When we do, we are not excusing their behavior, but we are loosening the bonds of unforgiveness that tie us to the offense.

Then, we can be free to receive the gift of God’s Spirit living within us, and we can experience true peace; the peace of Jesus.

Find some practical advice in Archbishop Gustavo’s pastoral letter, Transformed by Hope: “We need to find a time and a place that allows us a moment of silence. There we can, so to speak, look at ourselves from the outside and review how we relate to our environment; acknowledge what feeds or causes our emotions, feelings and affections; reexamine our ideas, prejudices, perceptions, assumptions, reactions and relationships. Finally, we can encounter ourselves and God. In this way we will find peace and a deep joy, beyond that which comes and goes with different situations. The Holy Spirit will transform us into a new creation and others might discover in us instruments that God sends.”

Answering Christ’s call, Pilgrim Center of Hope guides people to encounter Him so as to live in hope, as pilgrims in daily life.

Angela Sealana is Media Coordinator for Pilgrim Center of Hope, having served at the apostolate since 2010. She also serves on the PCH Speaker Team.

I am the Good Shepherd

April 26, 2021/0 Comments/in Blog /by Deacon Tom Fox

In the Gospels, Jesus identifies himself with several titles that begin, “I am…”. For me, the title that is most tender and compassionate is when he says,

“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”

Jesus reveals in his ministry that he is the ultimate good shepherd because his purpose is to save the souls of all humanity and he completes his mission by laying down his life on the cross.

Although Jesus Christ completed his mission, he established his Church to carry on that work of saving souls. He built this Church on the confession of Peter who he charged with tending and feeding his sheep. Through the priesthood, he gave Peter and the Church the authority to forgive sins and to change bread and wine into his own body and blood so that those who believed in him might have eternal life.

Priests and Deacons

In an unbroken line from Peter and the Apostles to our present Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, and Priests Jesus continues his role as Good Shepherd as they all perform their ministry in persona Christi, which means in the person of Christ. As they minister the sacraments of the Church it is Jesus Christ himself who makes the sacraments effective through them.

Deacons are also ordained into this unbroken line dating back to the beginning of the Church. Though their ordination differs from that of bishops and priests, they are nevertheless called by Christ to serve his flock through the ministry of the Word and other services that require special formation. They can perform baptism, funerals, and witness marriages in the absence of a priest, or at the assistance of a priest. The Diaconate ministry covers a wide spectrum of service to the Church including but not limited to liturgy, evangelization, visiting the sick and imprisoned, faith formation, and assisting the bishop and their pastors as needed.

Consecrated Life

The consecrated life of the religious is also essential to Our Lord’s plan of caring for souls. Through the ages, the religious have been a heroic sign of the presence of Jesus Christ as they educate, evangelize and serve all who are in need. Religious organizations have produced thousands of canonized saints and their work has been indispensable in the passing on of the faith.

As the numbers of clergy and religious continue to decline we all must pray every day for vocations. Certainly, the Good Shepherd continues to call men and women to participate in his work of saving souls. Our prayer is for those he is calling to respond to the call, not only for the sake of the souls they will be helping, but also for their own sake because we can only reach our potential for happiness in this life by following the plan the Lord has for us.

Laity

We see the beauty of Jesus’ plan as he continues to shepherd souls, but what about the rest of the Church? Does he expect the small number of clergy and religious to be solely responsible for the salvation of humanity? There is a huge army that is expected to participate in this saving work called the laity. We are all baptized and have received the theological gifts of Faith, Hope, and love as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Every one of us is equipped and expected to participate in the work of saving souls by praying for the conversion of those who have separated themselves from God and by being a witness of what we believe by what we say and do. If we have experienced God’s love, mercy, and providence we certainly want to share this Good News with others.

When we pray for vocations, we also pray for holy marriages and sanctified single life. Every baptized person is expected to be a light in the world, bringing the presence of Christ into our homes and the workplace. When we read the lives of the saints and hear the stories of clergy and religious, we find that most discovered their calling from God through the faithful witness of their parents. The home is where children should first learn about God’s love for them as they are taught how to pray and ask for God’s guidance at a very early age.

There is no baptized person who does not have a calling from God. When we order our lives to God by a commitment to daily prayer, by living the sacramental life and continue to be formed in the faith through spiritual reading we give God the opportunity to influence our decisions as we continually draw closer to him, and then promises he gives us in the Gospels become a reality in our lives. In addition to the magnificence of creation, the reality of the existence of God should be apparent through the witness of those who believe in him.

How can we follow the Good Shepherd?

If there is chaos in our lives, in society, or in our world there is only one explanation- we, the society or the world are not following the Good Shepherd and the plan he has for us. His plan doesn’t eliminate all sickness, suffering, and disasters but he gives us the grace and peace to persevere with the confidence that he will bring us through. We see this reality repeatedly when we read the lives of the saints. Because God is patient for our salvation, it is never too late to begin anew in Christ. As a matter of fact, we know from his own words that he seeks out those who are lost. He will find his way to any soul that has a humble, contrite heart.

We know the words to say,

“Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Good Shepherd, lead me into the security your Sacred Heart.”

Deacon Tom Fox, K.H.S. is Co-Founder & Co-Director of Pilgrim Center of Hope with his wife, Mary Jane Fox. The two left their careers after a profound conversion experience and began working full-time in ministry at their parish in 1986. After several years and having impacted tens of thousands of families, the Foxes founded Pilgrim Center of Hope in 1993 as a response to the Church’s call for a New Evangelization. Deacon Tom is an invested member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.

Answering Christ’s call, Pilgrim Center of Hope guides people to encounter Him so as to live in hope, as pilgrims in daily life. See what’s happening & let us journey with you! Visit PilgrimCenterOfHope.org.

Amidst Chaos: Simple but Powerful Steps to Peace & Trust In God

April 19, 2021/0 Comments/in Blog /by Angela Sealana

I remember a few years ago, standing in the Southwest Airlines ticket line at the San Antonio airport. My husband and I were eagerly awaiting our flight to a family get-together.

But our mood was disturbed as a woman furiously pulled her luggage into the line behind us. From her loud phone conversation, we immediately knew that her flight home had been cancelled due to tornado warnings elsewhere. After hanging up, she began spewing expletives into our shared air, seemingly unaware of the folks around her.

My annoyance turned to sadness for this woman, when she (angrily) revealed to an agent that she had an ill family member at home, with whom she needed to be present.

Whether by a trip to the airport, the grocery store, a walk around our neighborhood, or even staying home and scrolling the Internet, it’s easy to see how chaotic our lives can become. People get sick, accidents happen, tasks need accomplishing, not to mention injustices in our communities…

As life piles up, how can we maintain peace and trust in God?

At several points in the Gospel, Jesus’ disciples think they’ve got it made. We get it now, they say. We understand you and your message now!

But Jesus hands them a reality check:

Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.

Sometimes when we feel strong in faith, we get a reality check: something doesn’t go according to plan, and we panic.

Waving the White Flag?

Look at our first pope, Peter.

As guards arrested Jesus, Peter fought back; cutting off a man’s ear!
Afterwards, he tried to escape the situation; denying three times that he ever knew Jesus.
At the Crucifixion, Peter was nowhere to be found.

What happened to Peter later in life, so that he finally had peace amid chaos? How was he finally able to “take courage” and face his own persecutors and death?

Peter learned to surrender.

That word invokes negative connotations. “Surrender” seemingly epitomizes weakness… and who wants to be weak? Yet, the centrality of surrender amid suffering is the message that Peter hammers home in his letters, which are now books of our Bible (1 and 2 Peter).

Why surrender? My spiritual director once instructed me to read a spiritual classic: Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence, by Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade. Its author directly addresses our desire to fight or escape God’s will:

If that which God Himself chooses for you does not content you, from whom do you expect to obtain what you desire? If you are disgusted with the meat prepared for you by the divine will itself, what food would not be insipid to so depraved a taste? No soul can be really nourished, fortified, purified, enriched, and sanctified except in fulfilling the duties of the present moment. What more would you have? As in this you can find all good, why seek it elsewhere? Do you know better than God? As he ordains it thus why do you desire it differently? Can His wisdom and goodness be deceived?

Wow. In what we could call the “School of Surrender,” the first step to maintaining peace is to see my daily life as a personalized gift from an All-Good, All-Loving, Most-Wise and All-Powerful God.

If my day is filled with challenges, I have to trust that I’ve been offered resources & graces tailor-made to overcome those challenges. As my day is peppered with good things, surrendering means trusting that God has also willed those good things exactly for me at that moment.

What a source of joy!

Finding Peace

Here at the Pilgrim Center of Hope, we deal with a number of challenges. Amidst them all, we gather each day in Gethsemane Chapel with our CEO (the Lord Jesus). We begin with a Consecration to the Holy Spirit recommended by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller. We pray, “O Holy Spirit… I surrender myself to You…”

Let’s make an effort to address our own daily ways of “fighting” or “escaping from” the everyday situations entrusted personally to us by our loving, Heavenly Father. What will we choose to do; complain? drag our feet? ignore some duty that we know is best for us? escape through many hours of entertainment?

Instead of complaining, let’s choose to praise God: “Thank you, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, for being with me at this moment.”

Instead of dragging our feet, let’s stand confidently in the graces that God has given us.

Instead of ignoring our duty, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to turn our eyes to face what is before us with courage.

Instead of escaping, let’s ask Jesus to take us by his hands that were pierced as a promise of his love and constant presence.

Come, Holy Spirit. Help me to find peace in surrender.