John 14:27

27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The last few years, I have picked a theme word or motto for the year--something to guide me and be my focus for the year. The word I chose for this year is "Peace." There are several things in my life I feel I need to find peace about. The world talks about peace a lot and promises we can find peace within ourselves if we read a certain book or utilize a certain technique. But the truth is, true peace cannot be found in a book or technique; it can't be found within us. True peace comes from outside us. True peace comes to us from Jesus Christ. In this passage He says He freely gives us His peace. Indeed because of Jesus' death on the cross for us, we do have peace. We have peace with God. We have peace knowing we are forgiven and have eternal life. Since peace comes from Jesus, we need to be connected to Him. We are connected to Him through our Baptism. We live in our Baptism every day. We are connected as we hear His Word. We are connected to Him as we receive His very body and blood in Communion. Can we ever have a more peaceful moment in our lives than when we receive the Lord's body and blood and hear the words, "Given and shed for you." How awesome that no matter how chaotic our lives may be, no matter what struggles we face, we do have peace.