Monday of
the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
August 25, 2014 6:30am
The first reading today is from
the very beginning of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.
I imagine you noticed Paul’s
greeting: “Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is one of the greetings in
our Missal for the beginning of Mass.
I used it this morning.
There are two words that form the
core of this greeting: “grace” and “peace.”
Paul begins, “Grace to you.”
The word “Grace” is not easy to define briefly.
Grace means the presence, the
strength, the love, and the healing action of God.
So grace is the presence of God –
God with us, abiding within each of us, and present among us as a community of
faith.
Grace is the strength of God – the
inner power that is needed for living a life faithful to God and the way of
Jesus.
Grace is the love of God – God’s
unconditional acceptance of us and our allowing this to be the source of our
self-esteem and worth.
And grace is the healing action of
God – through his presence, strength and love, God will heal us of any inner
fragmentation and make us whole and holy persons.
All of that is packed into the
word “grace.”
And then Paul says, “peace” – “Grace to you and peace.”
This peace seems to me to be the
result of the grace.
With the grace of God within us,
we can be at peace – at peace with God, with ourselves and with one another.
So maybe with this background, we
can appreciate this greeting more when the priest uses it here at Mass, and
then enthusiastically wish him the same “Grace
and Peace” when we respond “And with
your spirit.”
