Our Lord Jesus Christ is a generous and loving Father, always giving us more than we need. As He is perfect in His love and perfect in His knowledge of His children, He knows our hearts desires and always provides for
us.
Although it may seem at times that God does not listen to us and that we are continuously asking for things which we do not receive, if we listen carefully we will find that at those times when it really counts and when it is according to His all wise and all knowing will, our needs and desires are satisfied.
The most logical and appropriate gift for someone who is hungry is food and for someone who is thirsty, to drink, What of the rest of us? What do we need? In our lives we have many needs, as we go through difficult times, tribulations and troubles we need support, we need comfort and above all we need peace. Out of His love for us, our Lord chose a dedicated group of servants with whom He entrusted the blessed words of His gospel and the message of His everlasting kingdom that they, through their ministry may pass it down from generation to generation, so that we, His children and their heirs should receive this message.
The disciples had a long road ahead of them, they were faced with persecution, animosity and at the end of their lives most of them even faced death and for this reason, our Lord gave them exactly what they would need. In the gospel of Saint John, out of all the things our Lord could have given them, both material and spiritual, He gave them the one thing that could not come from any other source. The words of our Lord our comforting peace I leave with you, it is my own peace that I give you, I do not give it as the world does.
Peace is a wonderful gift, and true peace only comes from God. In these days of turmoil, there are many who have lost their peace and there are many who feel a variety of emotions, sorrow, anger and even the need for revenge. These feelings are not from God for they are not of God. That which comes from God is comforting, and it is the source of our support and strength in the face of the greatest tragedy or persecution. We have been given peace for our lives in this world and we have been given the saving blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for our lives in the world to come. Let us therefore make use of this, peace, let us live within peace. The peace which lives in us and in which we live will shine through us and will be moved to many others. The longest journey starts with a single step, the highest mountain starts with the smallest grain of sand and the peace of our world which we live in today will start with each and every one of us.