Dissolving Discord

I’m going to finish out the week with another quote from St. Jerome (in a homily on Psalm 76). It might sound stern for a bit, but there is great hope at the end. Read on:

“. . . there is no tent of the Lord except where there is peace. Where there is strife and discord, God is not there as Protector. . . . The abode of God is only in a peaceful soul; therefore, let the soul that is without peace know that it is not the dwelling place of God. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.’ (John 14:27) Peace is our legacy from the Savior.”

So what do we do when we are not at peace, but rather are being torn apart by strife and discord, worries and anxieties, or when we are in the grip of resentments, bitterness, jealousy or envy? Is God not with us at those times?

Or perhaps is God speaking to us the same words He spoke to the disciples at the Last Supper—and remember that he was speaking to men who were overcome by fear and anxiety at the moment:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.”

I suggest that when we find ourselves far from peace, we need to remember a couple of things:

First of all, in the very deepest part of our being, in that part which we are barely conscious of because it defies rational thought, the Holy Spirit of God rests with us and continually cries out in prayer for us when we cannot pray ourselves. This deepest part of ourselves is sometimes called the “True Self” (See Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond).

Secondly, God rests more deeply in our souls and spirits than those less deep parts ourselves that may be suffering discord, anger and even a certain violence.

Thirdly, once we recognize our wretched condition, then we can cry out to God and invite Him to dwell with us and to dissolve the pain and contradiction we find within ourselves, hanging all of that on the Cross, where Jesus suffered from the effects of all the sin and pain and discord—where He was literally torn apart in the agony of His crucifixion.

Finally, lest we doubt that God will again reside with us, we need remember His promise, a promise that Jerome quotes at the end of his homily:

‘Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man listens to my voice and opens the door to me, I will come in to him and will sup with him. (Rev 3:20)

St. Jerome concludes him homily with these words of encouragement:

“Every day Christ stands at the door of our hearts; He longs to enter. Let us open our hearts wide to Him; then He will come in and be our host and guest. He will dwell in us and sup with us.”

God bless you! Have a nice weekend.