January is a time when we naturally look to make a fresh start. Resolutions may seem arbitrary and contrived, and certainly the public perception of them has become more cynical, but I am always up for reimagining how I can do things differently, and hopefully better. Advent, Lent, New Years, or even just Monday are all times that hold that promise of hope; hope that we can make a positive change in our lives.
One step I decided to take to improve my life was to clear off my bedside table of the books that I had begun and not finished! I started with Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Phillippe, because I had basically finished it, and only had a couple of pages left. And of course, with Our Lord’s perfect timing, Fr. Phillippe had some power packed words to share with me at a most appropriate time.
As I was making plans to restructure parts of my routine with the hope of improving my health, my prayer life, or my peace, which sometimes feels like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, Fr. Phillippe tells me that the sign that our wishes and desires are in accordance with the Holy Spirit is that we are at peace.
“A desire that causes us to lose peace, even if the thing desired is excellent in itself, is not of God.”
Wow. This was a jarring truth.
My tendency is to keep pushing through and force the “right” thing to happen. I must admit I have not had great progress with this method. It’s exhausting.
Fr. Phillipe goes on, “It is necessary to want and desire, but in a free and detached way, in abandoning to God the realization of these desires, as He desires and when He wishes…It is God who converts us and causes us to grow, not our nervousness, our impetuosity and our impatience.”
That is not to say that making changes in our lives should be easy and painless. No, making improvements will cost us something – in effort, or perhaps the loss of some free time. But, peace should follow. Think of adding a new prayer component to your daily routine. It isn’t easy making yourself follow through. We can find so many excuses!! But, when we complete the prayer, peace rushes in.
Father’s central message throughout the booklet is that no progress can be made unless we have peace in our souls. This is true as we strive to improve things about ourselves, and it remains true even after we have sinned. At first glance, this didn’t sound right! What about contrition? Penance?
Well, again Fr. Phillippe has words of wisdom: “Of course, we must struggle energetically against sin and correct our imperfections. God vomits the tepid and nothing cools love quite like resigning oneself to mediocrity (this resignation is, by the way, a lack of confidence in God and His ability to sanctify us!)...the joyous acceptance of one’s own poverty is in no way equivalent to a resignation to mediocrity or an abdication of aspiring to perfection. Rather, it is the quickest and surest road to perfection because it puts us in the position of smallness, confidence and abandonment by which we are placed entirely in the hands of God Who can act in us by His grace and carry us Himself by pure mercy to the perfection that we, in no way, could achieve by our own strength."
Many times I have told a student that they need to bring their “five loaves and two fish” to the table. We are pleased to offer assistance and support to struggling students, but the student must do their part. Jesus could have fed the 5,000 without multiplying the loaves and fish. He could have said the word and had food miraculously appear. However, he asked for the contribution from the crowd for a reason: he always expects us to do our part, and to do it to our best ability. He expects, accepts, and blesses our efforts.
As I read Fr. Phillippe’s words, they reminded me of this famous miracle of Our Lord. The peace Fr. Phillippe speaks of is authentic trust that God will work all things for our good. It is abandonment to His divine providence. And this brings untold peace. What a great way to start the year! - Mrs. Lisa Sweet, Academic Dean