Characteristics of Peace

 {Two peace quotes from CA capital building in Sactown}

This morning, I decided to wear the necklace I bought at a flea market with Jen and Lauren back in March.  It is a thin gold chain with a tiny gold peace sign.  Little did I know that this would be a common thread throughout my day. 

Friday is the last day of school for the 8^th graders and boy, are they making it obvious that they are done.  I kept having to remind myself throughout the day that I need to find my inner peace and only let my peace show.  The mantra that I have been using recently is one I learned sophomore year at SLU from a professor, Mark Chmiel.  It was written by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk:

"Breathing in I calm my body
breathing out I smile
dwelling in the present moment
I know it is a wonderful moment"

It usually works pretty well.  Also, last Friday, we had a faculty retreat and our secretary, Miss Espie's sister, did a presentation about positive energy and showing God's light to others in our everyday actions.  This reflection and workshop has been sticking with me the past couple of days and I have been trying to be more open and accepting, allowing positive vibrations to flow out of me instead of negative, whether is it something as simple as standing with a more open stance (arms down, palms open) or something that takes more work like affirming in my mind others around me instead of thinking negatively about them.  

peace and positive energy.

This evening, we went to the Catholic Worker house in Boyle Heights for their weekly community mass and dinner.  The priest was running a little late (end of the mass late), so one of the workers stepped in and said the mass.  The homily was beautiful and was a reflection given by him and other members of the congregation (including Paula!).  Some things that stood out to me:

1 Pt 3:15-18
Beloved:
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence,
keeping your conscience clear,
so that, when you are maligned,
those who defame your good conduct in Christ
may themselves be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good,
if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.

John 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Also, during the sign of peace, everyone hugged each other, which may seem weird and too touchy-feely, but it was so powerful.  All these people gathered together in God's name, people working and dedicating their lives to serving social justice issues in the way that they feel called to, embraced each other to share in celebration of God.  During the mass I was thinking a lot about what peace means.  Peace is a word we throw around a lot, but honestly, what does "peace" look like?  Is it attainable?  Hugging these strangers, warriors of the streets, previously homeless people who were taken in by the CW house, made me realize that if we put differences aside and come into relationships and encounters thinking the best of others, thinking that they are people capable of love (which everyone is), peace is attainable.  But when we walk around with shields, with weapons (as I write this in Starbucks, I just realized that there are police getting coffee - with guns ready in their holsters - what does this say their expectations are?? -- but also our own weapons of words), and with our own interests first, we are creating an environment in which peace will whither and die immediately.  

peace and acceptance.

Tonight I needed to go to Starbucks for the internet and as I walked I actually felt unsafe.  I don't usually get nervous in our neighborhood and crossing the bridge, but seeing a kid hop out of a car, smelling of weed and visibly high, seeing homeless searching for a space for the night, and getting a couple of creepy looks from guys, I got a bit spooked.  At first, I started to hum this song loudly, but then I realized I too sounded like a crazy person, so instead I started to say to myself, "God be with me, God be with me, God be with me."  Then I realized that while I always need God with me, so do these people around me, so instead, I began repeating, "God be with them, God be with them, God be with them."  There was something so powerful about praying for them and praying that they know God's love.

peace and unconditional love.

Once at Starbucks, the two men behind me started to complain and use the f word as every other word to complain about how slow it took in line (there was one person in front of me) and how time is money and they were so ticked off.  Once they got up to the register, they didn't even know their own order.  "I want that strawberry crap." was the actual order one of them placed.  And then their conversations with each other were so derogatory about themselves and about others.  I just kept thinking about how blessed I am to know God's love, very much due to the example of unconditional love that I have been amazingly blessed to feel and know from my parents.  And from my friends that love me. Now to figure out how to show this love to strangers and to be a symbol of God's peace to people I encounter everyday.  Smiling doesn't always work like I thought.  I got a really creepy eyebrow raise from a man tonight.  Needless to say I am going to be working on revising this approach.  

peace and patience. 

Thanks for reading.

Some picture rewards:

Spirituality night I led modeled after this:

 Greg's

 Paula's

 Mine

 Colleen's

Tucson over Memorial Day:

 We make great cacti!

 Sunset at Gate's Pass

 I am so blessed to have Jen as a friend

Ita in Tucson - it was crazy windy!

And a bonus: a Catholic Worker mass song I enjoyed:
The George Fox Song

There's a light that is shining in the heart of a man,
It's the light that was shining when the world began.
There's a light that is shining in the Turk and the Jew
And a light that is shining, friend, in me and in you.

Walk in the light, wherever you many be,
Walk in the light, wherever you may be!
"In my old leather breeches and my shaggy shaggy locks,
I am walking in the glory of the light," said Fox.
With a book and a steeple, with a bell and a key
They would bind it forever but they can't (said he).
Oh, the book it will perish and the steeple will fall
But the light will be shining at the end of it all.


"If we give you a pistol, will you fight for the Lord?"
"But you can't kill the Devil with a gun or a sword!"
"Will you swear on the Bible?" "I will not!" said he,
"For the truth is more holy than the book to me."


There's an ocean of darkness and I drown in the night
Till I come through the darkness to the ocean of light,
For the light is forever and the light it is free
"And I walk in the glory of the light," said he.