Weekly Bulletin

Peace I Leave You

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks words of deep consolation to his disciples. As he prepares to leave them, he assures them not of an easy life, but of a lasting presence—his own Spirit—and a peace unlike any the world can offer.

Yet, these words also prompt a difficult question. Jesus promises peace, but the world has not known peace in any sustained or universal way since his time. Wars continue, conflict persists, and the human family remains divided. For some, especially in the Jewish tradition, this is a reason to question whether Jesus could truly be the promised Messiah. The expectation was that the Messiah would bring about an age of universal peace—and this, they argue, clearly has not come to pass. So what kind of peace does Jesus promise?

The peace Jesus offers is not the absence of external conflict. It is not a political or social utopia imposed from above. Instead, it is a peace that takes root in the heart. It is the inner stillness and courage that comes from knowing we are loved, accompanied, and never abandoned by God. It is the peace of Jesus himself—who, facing betrayal, suffering, and death, remains centred in his mission of love and forgiveness. His peace is not circumstantial; it is relational. It flows from communion with the Father and is given to all who open themselves to that same communion.

We might say that this inner peace is the seed of the wider peace we long for. It is meant to radiate outward, shaping our relationships, our choices, and ultimately our world. The lack of peace in the world, then, is not evidence of Jesus’ failure, but of our failure to live in the Spirit he sends us. The peace of Christ does not override our freedom—it invites our participation. It is sown in vulnerability, nourished in prayer, and made visible in lives of mercy and justice.

Based on: Different View – Peace, by Greg Sunter

 May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved……….forever!  
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The Heart of Jesus is a concise expression of his Person

The heart of Jesus is a concise expression of his adorable person. When God looks at Christ, he sees the entire world. Profound words that would seem to complement these: When we look at Christ, we see him whole and entire in his Sacred Heart. We well realize that we find him there, and that he is there with all his treasures, when we address this prayer to him that the church puts on our lips: Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Jules Chevalier msc 
Le Sacré-Coeur de Jésus p.132., Paris 1900.

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It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters. Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart. The heart of Christ is “ecstasy”, openness, gift and encounter. In that heart, we learn to relate to one another in wholesome and happy ways, and to build up in this world God’s kingdom of love and justice. Our hearts, united with the heart of Christ, are capable of working this social miracle. 

Pope Francis. Dilexit Nos: He Loved us, #28 
On the Human and Divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ

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