NBVM Novena Day 6: Peace Through Justice
In his homily, Fr. Bernard highlighted how the Gospel passage from Luke 6:20–26 challenges everything that society considers normal. This is not an easy message to accept -“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Jesus spoke the Beatitudes to people who had come to Him carrying their struggles and searching for hope. He offered them not simply comfort, but God’s vision of life-a vision rooted in the justice and mercy of God.
These words remind us to place our trust in God, especially when we feel that we have little to hold on to. In our vulnerability, we can become more open to God and allow Him to work through us. It is often through our own experiences of suffering that we become more compassionate towards those who are suffering. When we allow God to work through us, we become instruments of His compassion to those in need. Like Mary, we are called to be open and willing vessels, allowing God’s love, mercy and justice to reach others through our words and actions. The prayer of St. Francis beautifully captures this call-“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
Yet there are many distractions that can prevent us from becoming God’s instruments. Our desire for recognition, popularity, wealth, power and prestige can slowly draw us away from God. Even our own fears, pride and need for control can prevent us from surrendering ourselves fully to Him.
Mary is a beautiful example of such openness-she humbly allowed God to work through her. Her Magnificat reveals a God who turns worldly expectations upside down:
“he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.”
In the end, peace cannot be separated from justice. As St. John Paul II reminded us, “There is no peace without justice, and no justice without forgiveness.” True peace is not merely the absence of conflict; it is the presence of justice. (SR)
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