Fr. Franco's Letters

The Flame: September/October 2025

Dear Readers of the Flame,

On the night before he died, Jesus gave his followers some parting gifts: his Body and Blood (Mark 14:22-25), his example of washing feet (John 13:1-17), the new commandment to imitate his love (John 13:34-35), his parting teachings on the Holy Spirit (John 14:16 and others) and his prayer for unity (John 17:20-26).

Among Jesus’ parting gifts was peace. Jesus said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid…I have told you all this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. (John 14:27 and 16:33)

What a great gift! This is the longing of each human heart and the desire for the world. Yet this gift of peace seems so elusive-at times for individuals and certainly for the world. How can this gift of peace, this fruit of the Holy Spirit, grow in us?

First, we need to remember: the gift of Christ’s peace is not based on circumstances. Occasionally, our circumstances can produce a fragile peace. When everything in our work, home, social and personal aspects of life are trouble free, we have peace. Those days are rare. In fact, Jesus promised otherwise. Again, he said, “in the world, you will have trouble.” Though we live in the world, we are not of the world. We can carry the peace of Christ with us, amid the troubles of this world.

Secondly, we need to pray. St. Paul said:

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Prayer connects us to the Ruler of the universe who is the source of peace. When things seem to be unraveling on earth or in our personal lives, God is not panicking. By our grateful prayer we petition the One who is all good, all powerful and all wise. His peace in Jesus will then guard our hearts and minds.

Finally, we need to do our part in guarding our hearts and minds from anxiety. Again, St. Paul immediately after the above promise on prayer teaches:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

St. Paul understood the human person very well. He knew that our feelings follow our thoughts. If our thoughts are occupied with things that are true, honorable, just, pure et cetera, then our hearts will be less apt to be troubled. Christ’s peace will find a home in us.

Isaiah 26:3 from the Revised Standard Version reads,

Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.

This is the challenge! Our minds find it easy to stray from the Lord than to stay on the Lord. How can we cooperate with the Spirit to bear the fruit of peace?

Most of us have a lot of “weeding” to do in the garden of our hearts. We have developed thought patterns, based on our experiences, that are rooted in fear and mistrust. We compound matters by feeding our souls with impactful media content that makes us feel frustrated, powerless and even angry. To move from a mind that strays from the Lord to one that stays with the Lord we need to deal with both of these things.

We need to prayerfully weed our hearts. Our propensity to fall into negative thinking is to become the opportunity for us to draw close to the Lord in prayer. By dialoging with the Lord about our fears, judgmental thoughts and anger he can begin to bring us healing and peace.

We also need to limit our intake of news media. I am not recommending burying our heads in the sand. Our knowledge of the problems in our world, nation and community summons us to intercessory prayer. Some of us may even be called into the heat of these battles to bring Christ’s light, love and truth to bear on these issues. However, if we find ourselves being dragged down by the world’s problems or distracted by the world’s values, we may be overconsuming this world’s information.

Again, St. Paul gives us beautiful words that root us in the peace of Christ:

And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)

Though Jesus gives us his gift of peace, it is a peace that grows in us through intentional decisions. By praying to our heavenly Father-all powerful, good and wise-and by embracing the fact that we live in a troubled world, we will grow the fruit of peace. We will become more like Christ and better able to witness to His abiding presence in a world that so needs his peace.

In Christ,
Fr. Bob Franco