27 December 2021

Fr. Patrick Briscoe, O.P., on the Peace of Christ

"[Thirty years ago on] Christmas Day, the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin for the last time. Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev resigned. That fateful Christmas brought a peaceful end to a bloody and tumultuous regime. . . .

"The first Christmas in Bethlehem came to pass during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate, the first period of the Roman Empire. His reign was effective. His leadership brought about a period of relative peace, known down through the ages as the Pax Romana. These two centuries, absent large-scale conflict, were remarkable years of peace for Rome.

"Since the birth of Christ, kings have faltered and fallen. Empires have arisen and crumbled. The unscrupulous engine of history steams ever onward.

"So how is this child king rightly called the 'Prince of Peace'?"

In a recent commentary, Father Patrick Briscoe, O.P., reflected on how the peace of Christ is not a technique or state of mind, but is a peace based on knowing and loving God.

To access Fr Patrick's complete post, please visit: 

Aleteia: Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP: Beyond the mighty schemes of men (25 DEC 21)

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