Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Thursday within the Octave of Easter, 04-04-13

Acts 3:11-26 / Luke 24:35-48

The Hebrew word for peace is "shalom". But "shalom" has more than one meaning besides peace.

It is also rooted in the word שלם (shaleim), which means completion.. So it also means that without peace, nothing can come to completion.

Also "shalom" is also used as a greeting and a salutation.

So when Jesus greeting His disciples "Peace be with you", all the meanings of shalom were also intended.

Obviously the disciples were not at peace and they were mentally and spiritually shattered.

But with His gift of peace, Jesus gathered the minds and hearts of His disciples so that they can see the meaning as well as the completion of all that had happened.

Yes, all that had happened, from the Last Supper to the Passion and Death and Resurrection, found meaning and completion in the Risen Christ.

At Mass, we exchange the sign of peace with each other as we say "Peace be with you".

Following that we partake of Holy Communion and unite ourselves with Christ. It also means that we unite ourselves with Christ in His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

May be peace of Christ be always in our hearts in the dying and rising moments of our life so that our life can find completion and bring about peace for others.