Monday, Seventh Week of Easter

[Scripture Readings: Acts 19:1-8; Jn 16:29-33 ]

Jesus said, “I have told you this so that you may have peace.”

The Anglican Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, who received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Gandhi Peace Prize, and the Pacem in Terris Award for Peace, once said, “If you want peace, don’t talk to your friends, talk to your enemies.”

Our bishops, in the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, write that, “Peace is not only a work of justice, it is also the fruit of love which goes beyond what justice can provide.”

So, how can we begin this work of love for the peace Jesus wants us to have? Mother Teresa of Calcutta expressed it very simply. She said, “Peace begins with a smile.”