What Peace Requires?
Peace…It is missing in the world. What is needed to bring peace to this world? We live in a world torn by war, division, and hatred. What is needed to change this?
My heart aches when I heard news stories like the one I read yesterday that said the leader of Iran is threatening Israel and its allies with a “crushing response” to the latest attacks by Israel on Iran. My heart aches…What is it going to attack to find peace?
This morning I was praying the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. The second reading was from paragraph 78 of the Second Vatican Council Document, Gaudium et Spes (Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. December 7, 1965. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html).
When I read the first line as translated in the Office of Readings, “Peace is not the mere absence of war or the simple maintenance of a balance of power between forces, nor can it be imposed at the dictate of absolute power. It is called, rightly and properly, a work of justice”, my heart was stirred. By the time I finished the Office of Readings this morning, my plan was to write my typical article on Tuesday this week based on this section from Gaudium et Spes.
With that in mind, earlier this afternoon I began to look at this passage again to begin to work on specific ideas to write on Tuesday morning. I found that paragraph 78 comes from a wider section of Gaudium et Spes on peace and war. I will focus this reflection on paragraph 78. The quote provided above is from the translation found in the Office of Readings. For the purposes of this article, in what follows, I will use the translation found on the Vatican website as provided in the links in this article.
As I began to reflect this afternoon, my heart came alive with a desire for peace. From this desire for peace, I realized that I don’t think God wants me to wait till Tuesday morning to complete this article. I need to write it today. In what follows, I will provide a quote in bolded italics followed by my thoughts on the quote.
“Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by dictatorship.”
Netanyahu has said that his goal is to destroy Hamas. I see no way this brings real peace as spoken of in Gaudium et Spes. I’m not even sure it will even temporarily bring an “absence of war.” It might bring Hamas to an end, but this war has upset so many that if Hamas is destroyed, it will be replaced by another group with similar interest. I fear than instead of bringing an “absence of war”, it may bring about a larger war with Iran.
I also think of the war between Russia and Ukraine. I still do not understand Russia’s motivation in starting this war. It seems their leader thought it was for him to take military action to make things be the way he wants them to be. I fear this war will soon escalate with the arrival of troops from North Korea to assist Russia near the Ukraine-Russian border.
“Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice. Peace results from that order structured into human society by its divine Founder, and actualized by men as they thirst after ever greater justice.”
I see two things here needed for peace. The first is the grace of God, our “divine Founder”. The second is for human beings to stop seeking to have things the way they want them to be so that we may give ourselves over to the will of our Father in Heaven. In Jeremiah 29:11 our Lord speaks of his plan for us, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the Lord—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” When are we going to wise up and realize that God’s plan is better than any plan that we could ever come up with? We need to strive to actualize God’s plan. His is the plan that will bring peace.
“But since the concrete demands of this common good are constantly changing as time goes on, peace is never attained once and for all, but must be built up ceaselessly. Moreover, since the human will is unsteady and wounded by sin, the achievement of peace requires a constant mastering of passions and the vigilance of lawful authority.”
We might think that if we did “x”, then we would have peace forever. I wonder if this is what Netanyahu thinks when he says he plans to destroy Hamas. The efforts for peace are not once and done. It is something that human beings will need to work for every single day until the second coming. What does this require? The answer is found in from paragraph 78 of Gaudium et Spes when it says personal well-being must be safeguarded (it is not when innocent people are killed) and “men freely and trustingly share with one another the riches of their inner spirits and their talents.” The latter does not even happen between sides in United States politics. How can we expect it to happen in war-torn regions? We need to come together as a people united in brotherhood.
“Hence peace is likewise the fruit of love which goes beyond what justice can provide. That earthly peace which arises from love of neighbor symbolizes and results from the peace of Christ which radiates from God the Father.”
The peace that we are meant for and comes to us as a gift from God can only be found when hatred and anger are eliminated so that God can fill our hearts with love. We need to love our neighbor. This means every person must have all that is their due, a safe place to live, food and water to eat, and safe places to seek the medical care that all people deserve. These are among the things required for justice. If we want true peace, we need to come together not in giving into to what others want in compromise but rather that we all lay down our own plans and desires and give ourselves over to the Will of God. We need to stop thinking we are smarter than God.
In chapter 7 of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, God offered King Ahaz a sign. Ahaz refused the sign because he had his own plan. He wanted to do it his way so he could have all the credit. How could he be so foolish? How we could be so foolish as think we know better than God? It doesn’t matter if we are talking about divisions in American politics, Israel and Hamas (and Iran…), or the Ukraine and Russia. The path is peace is found in following God’s Will and seeking his justice for all.
“Motivated by this same spirit, we cannot fail to praise those who renounce the use of violence in the vindication of their rights and who resort to methods of defense which are otherwise available to weaker parties too, provided this can be done without injury to the rights and duties of others or of the community itself.”
There are those who speak of Israel’s right to defend themselves. They do have a right to defend themselves as any sovereign nation does but it must be within the bounds of Just War Theory. I fear the actions they are taken are not within the limits of Just War Theory (see my articles on the conflict between Israel and Hamas under the category, “Just War Theory – Real Life Application” here on my blog).
I will end with this final quote from paragraph 78 of Gaudium et Spes
“Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as well and make these words come true: “They shall turn their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).”
Let us pray that we find God’s peace.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff