Serenity

The apostles were afraid and locked themselves into the upper room for fear of the Jews. Their leader had been killed and now his opponents were going for his minions. In spite of some news about Jesus’ resurrection, they were huddled in fear behind locked doors, all together not knowing what to do. We too are afraid of the future, worried about what could happen, insecure about our qualities, with fear of failure, self-centred in our sins, and we lock up ourselves just like an oyster. We become anxious and paralysed. And Jesus going through the walls appeared in the midst of them like a magic trick, with his glorious body. Maybe we cannot break away, but Jesus can, if we let him in. The power of God can break any wall, obstacle, or defence we place in front of him. He is the only one who can set us free.

The first thing Jesus says: “Peace be with you.” Be at peace, Shalom. Without peace we cannot pray, we cannot serve God. When we are too concerned about something, when there is something that occupies our mind, we cannot connect with God, we are not able to listen to his voice. When we are angry, when we feel insecure, we cannot see God as a Father. On the contrary: we can be upset with him. When we have lost control of ourselves, when we are all over the place, we need to go back to Jesus and allow him to come in and say: Peace be with you! Many times we are not ready for that.

Saint John XXIII wrote the Ten Commandments of Serenity. He begins each of them with these words: just for today. It is a reminder of how important is the present time. Forget about the past: we have gone to confession. No worries about the future: it is in God’s hands. Think about just for today. Focus your mind in the here and now. Children are the only ones who live in the present. Young people live in the future, looking forward about something; old people live in the past, regretting or blaming themselves for something. God has everything in his presence.

Saint John XXIII says that when he was elected Pope, at the beginning he couldn’t sleep because of the problems of the Church. One night he received an interior inspiration: “Who governs the Church? You or the Holy Spirit?” From then on he slept very well, so much so that he had to set an alarm to wake himself up from his afternoon nap. If we look after the things of God, He will look after us. We need to take it for granted that He is always in control.

Saints put all their attention into whatever they were doing at that moment, 100% focused in that particular task. That’s why when you were in the presence of John Paul II, you thought that time had stopped or at least slowed down, and you could explain two minutes in two hours. This time of Easter we need to look at Jesus as the Risen Christ, who comes to us with Easter Joy and says: be serene, be tranquil, no worries; sleep and be merry. I’ll worry for you. Look at the sleeping Saint Joseph. While he was sleeping peacefully, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him all he had to do. God tells us what we need to know in due time. We would like to know the future, but it is in God’s hands. Be patient; everything will be revealed if we are at peace.

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