Peace According to Christian Existence

 Peace as an empirical phenomenon

Looking at peace from what is apparently visible, it would be a state of human relations at the social level, without war and without violence. And from the plane of the entirely personal and private one can speak of a state of serenity undisturbed by human passions or by pursuit of interests.

But peace at a macro level, although more concrete, is public peace understood as concord and harmony between the citizens of the same community or the same State. But curiously, this public peace would not necessarily arise from a private or personal peace, as deduced from social analysis, but would arise as a result of a "collective feeling", or common meaning by virtue of which citizens accept a civil obedience concretized in laws and a repression of the violence that an individual or many exercise against others. In this case, despite the importance that this "collective feeling" may have, it is not the reality of peace in itself, but a manifestation of it and that only becomes effective, specifically, by subjecting it to acceptance. of repressive regulations by citizens.

Up to this point, peace would seem to be only an effect produced by the creativity of human beings, but nevertheless, humanity is aware that this human product is one of the greatest achievements it can achieve, as stated throughout history.

Peace as an exclusive gift of God

It must be stated in general that peace, as it appears in the Bible, is the supreme state of human existence that lives in harmony with nature, with its brothers, with itself and with God. It is not the product of legal and political existential security, nor is it a result of the harmonious relationship between the individual and society; rather these earthly realities are founded on peace itself and therefore this is a previous reality that has always existed in man himself. It is the gift of God in him.

But what do we mean by the gift of God? Peace is not simply a thing or an object other than God himself, nor is it an action exercised by him other than himself. This means that if peace is God himself giving himself to man in his own self, it is a divine existential already given in man himself, which not only guides but dynamizes the harmony of man with his brothers, with the world, with himself, Himself and with God, to the extent that each human being becomes aware of that reality, opens himself to it without resisting, and creatively becomes an agent of that same harmony with his brothers.

The search for peace

In the common language of our people and in a simplistic vision, peace would be a commitment that would come to us from the parties that generate violence or the product of an agreement between them, as a generosity of the agents of violence. Therefore, the search for peace could be an interested pressure from all citizens based on that commitment in order to be able to live in peace and be allowed to enjoy the accumulation of their assets. On the other hand, such an arrangement would be nothing more than an opportunity seized on the basis of the continuous threat and the actions of unlimited barbarism to obtain the greatest possible amount of all kinds of interests; therefore, what would be sought would be these same interests.

Hence, this vision of the search for peace cannot be consistent with what peace is in its pure reality, as a transcendent value and therefore as a gift from God.

In this context, the meaning of the word of Jesus in the Gospel of John is clear: "My peace I give you, not as the world gives it to you, but as I give it to you." (Jn 14,27). Here peace is the risen Christ himself giving himself to believers, in communion with each one of them, making them capable of God's peace and configuring them as witnesses of it.

 

 

                                             

What It Means to Be a Father Today

The 'good father', an image widely spread by consumer societies, is that of a 'provider': the one who satisfies all the material needs of the home. So that "the children don't lack anything," he works double shifts and even on weekends. The father cannot satisfy his present needs, when others have already been created for him. He thus wears himself out feverishly, without giving himself a break to enjoy what is important: the unique experience of watching his children grow up.

Parents who have managed to overcome the atavistic traditions of being mere providers share the joy of raising children and speak of "a new dimension in family life."

Despite the angry reproaches of those who seek to perpetuate the age-old taboo that when the father becomes emotionally involved with the child he becomes 'soft as a second mother', and that if he participates in the care and attention of the child he becomes simple, every day there are more parents present in the operating room at the time of the birth of their children, in the prenatal and postpartum courses to be trained in baby care.

It takes two to beget a child. Two are also needed for its development. The feminine intuition allows the mother to establish a vital communication with the child from the very moment of her birth. She interprets the signs of fear in the infant and gently reassures him and guides him gently.

The father's voice is extremely important: it gives security, trust in the future, establishes the limits of child behavior, and closes the circle of love that should surround the child. The father provides a unique and essential element in the child's upbringing, and his influence is powerful on emotional health. The mother tells him: "be careful", and the father tells him "one more", encouraging the little one to climb another rung to reach the top. Together, holding hands, father and mother guide the offspring on the path of life.

The father of today is open to the subtlest needs of the son: the emotional and the psychic. He transcends self-concern and his busyness, and gets to see the son on his own terms. He promotes the environment that allows him to develop his potential in a framework of responsible freedom, not domination.

He does not stop at the periphery, but knows the son up close. He guides him without aggressiveness, with motivated and reasoned firmness, along the path of the values ​​that he wishes to inherit. Today's father has given himself permission to see with eyes of love the offspring of his womb. He notices in the son, beyond the present limitations, the accumulation of possibilities that he is about to realize. And next to him enjoy every step of his development.

Conclusion

There are many good parents, there are few good parents. I don't think there is anything more difficult than being a good father. On the other hand, it is not difficult to be a good father. A soft heart is enough to be a good father; On the other hand, the strongest will and the clearest head are still not enough to be a good father.

A good father loves without thinking, the good father thinks to love. A good father says yes when he is yes, and no when he is no; the good father only knows how to say yes. The good father turns the child into a little god who ends up in a little demon. A good father does not make idols; he lives the presence of the only God.

A good father blows the fantasy of his son by letting him create an airplane with two old pieces of wood. A good father loves the will of his son, saving him efforts and responsibilities. A good father tempers the character of the son by leading him along the path of duty and work. And so, the good father reaches old age disappointed and belatedly repentant, while a good father grows in years respected, loved, and in the long run, understood.