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HOMILIES

I say it again, the paths to peace in this world have their places, but they are peace with a lower
case “p.”

What, then, is peace with an upper case “P”? This real peace, this peace that nothing and no
one can stand against, this is the peace of Jesus Christ who gives us his Peace.
Even in the greatest struggles, Jesus has the power to give us his peace. When we are in the
midst of a fire that devours all, Jesus has the power to give us his peace. When we are utterly
humiliated, Jesus has always the power to give us his peace. When we are terribly sick, he has
the power to give us his peace. In our worst defeats, Jesus has the power to give us his peace.
This is because Jesus is peace with an upper case “P” and he gives us his peace.

Over and above giving us his peace, he gives us the extraordinary gift to send us into the world
and bring with us the peace of God. He gives us this grand, this beautiful mission, the mission
of bringing peace to the world.

Being the Church of Christ is to be a Church that brings peace to the world. Being a missionary
disciples, the true sign of being a missionary disciple is to bring peace to the world. It is a
peace that only Jesus Christ can give! Only Jesus Christ is the true peace that nothing can
overcome. What a beautiful mission! What a great mission!

Let our fears not hold us back. Le us find the courage to overcome our fears! Let us draw on
our strength to go beyond our fears, those fears that confront us in a thousand ways! These
can be the fear of what others will say, the fear of rejection, the fear of not being heard, the
fear of being ignored! Overcoming our fears is always worth the effort!

Often, we rationalize our fears by saying, “It does not matter, they will not listen to us,” and
then we do not speak the name of Jesus Christ. Another one is, “Oh, they are elsewhere, they
are busy,” and we do not speak the name of Jesus Christ. One of the most common reasons for
identifying oneself as a Christian in our society is the following: “Ah, they have already made
up their minds, they stay away from Church, they do not like the Church, they are against the
Church, look how they critique the Church,” and then we do not speak the name of Jesus
Christ.

Our fears easily become the justification for not speaking the name of Jesus Christ. Our fears
become irrefutable reasons, but they are just reasons with a lower case “r.” Nevertheless,
these reasons paralyse us and keep us from speaking publicly the name of Jesus Christ!

(cont’d)

Collection of texts by the Most Rev. Christian Lépine 181