July 29, 2019

It was St. Augustine of Hippo who remarked, “O God, you have made us for Yourself…and our souls are restless, until they rest in you.” This saying of St. Augustine obviously expresses the reality of our earthly existence. Ours is generally a world of restlessness. St. John Bosco, Apostle of Catholic Youth, corroborates this fact when he explains that God has created human beings to work, and when we refuse to work, God is not happy with us, because, according to him, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” An English adage says, “Nature abhors vacuum”. St. Paul warns the Thessalonians, saying, “We command you, brothers, to stay away from anyone who is living in idleness contrary to the traditions we passed on to you….Besides, while we were with you, we said clearly that if anyone is not willing to work, neither should that one eat” (2 Thess. 3:6, 10) All these statements show that there is no room for idleness.  As long as we are alive, we must engage ourselves in physical and mental activities.  The Latin expression, homo faber, which translates as “working man” or “human being that works” indicates that to work is part of human nature.  Put differently, man, as co-creator with God, cannot be fulfilled in this life without work.  Although “restlessness” is the general characteristic of this earthly existence, since it is only those that have died who can be predicated of the expression “Rest in Peace,” it has been discovered that there is a particular kind of restlessness that is experienced by those whose quest for material possessions is insatiable.  These people are never satisfied with the acquisition of materials things oftentimes to the detriment of their souls. Some vivid examples of this category of people could be found among politicians. That is why it has become commonplace to see one politician decamping or defecting from one political party to another “in search of greener pasture!”

 

It is the kind of people described above, who are never tired of amassing wealth, who acquire wealth restlessly that I would like to remind that “peace is the greatest good of the soul”.  Those who are excessively materialistic can never have peace, because, at least, they will continue to think of how best they can secure such possessions, besides the tendency of setting their minds always on their wealth. It is this continuous inordinate urge to amass wealth and wield power that causes war. That is why Archbishop Fulton Sheen was quick to remark that “It is material things that divide people”.  It is greed for material things that causes war.  Spiritual realities do not cause division and war, except where spiritual gifts have been used for selfish purposes. What is the solution to all this?  It is “peace of soul” which can be experienced only by those who detach themselves from excessive acquisition of material possession. It is this “peace of soul” that can put an end to war.  Hence the title of this editorial: “Peace of Soul: An Antidote to War.”

 

What then is peace? In ordinary parlance, peace means rest, quiet, calm, serenity; being in a state of friendship with someone. St. Paul is trying to tell us what we can do to have peace when he exhorts us to rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16).  According to St. John of the Cross, “In all circumstances, however hard they may be, we should rejoice rather than be cast down,  that we may not lose the greatest good, the peace and tranquility  of our soul” (J. Maurus, A Source Book of Inspiration, 1994, p. 262).          St. Alphonsus-Mary Liguori says that, to have peace, one must always do God’s will.  To quote him verbatim: “He who is united with the divine will enjoys, even in this life, a perpetual peace” (J. Maurus, p. 263).

 

            Pope St. John Paul II states that: “If we wish to have true peace, we must give it a soul.  The soul of peace is love.  For believers, this love is rooted in God and exercises itself in love for men.”   In other words, to have peace of soul, we must exercise sacrificial love for God and for our neighbour.

 

What is Soul? In religious parlance, “soul” is “the spiritual part of a person, believed to exist after death”.  In this write-up, however, “soul” is construed to mean “a person’s inner character, containing their true thoughts and feelings.” When these true thoughts and feelings of the human person are peaceful, there will be peace in the world; when they are restless, this can result to war or restiveness.

 

What is an antidote?  Chemically, an antidote is a substance that controls the effects of a poison or disease. Used connotatively, an antidote to something is anything that takes away the effects of something unpleasant. What is being said in this piece is that peace of soul is capable of putting an end to war, whose effects are almost always unpleasant. Are there other antidotes to war?  Yes! They include Equity, Justice, Fair-play, Forbearance, Forgiveness, Friendliness, Generosity, Honesty, Accountability, Contentment or Satisfaction, Self-Sacrifice, Avoidance of Hate Speech, Promotion of the Common Good, Promotion of the Welfare and Well-being of one another, etc. When human beings exhibit the aforementioned virtues towards one another, it is highly unlikely that there will be war.

 

What is war? The term “war” is used to describe a situation in which two or more countries or groups of people fight against each other over a period of time. W. Michael Reisman explains war as a condition that exists when a group, often a political, social or economic faction within a recognized political group expresses the feeling that its vital interests are at stake and, therefore, tries to impose its beliefs or control on a rival group through the use of overt force (see Academic American Encyclopedia, vol. 20, p. 24). Brian Bary notes that war, in its fullest sense, is an attempt to impose one’s will on another by violence. As it is used in this write-up, “war” describes any situation at all that does not allow peace to reign, especially when the peace of a community or group is denied.  In other words, it must not necessarily be an open confrontation or physical combat, but when the peace of a group is seriously threatened. From whatever angle it is explained, it must be noted that the nature of war is always that of struggle, destruction, confusion, restlessness, etc. It is this situation of restlessness that Archbishop Fulton Sheen says usually emanates from within a person and causes war.  He describes this in three ways as shown below: He describes the troubled soul as the cause of violence and war. There can be no world peace unless there is soul peace.  World wars are only projections of the conflicts waged inside the souls of modern men and women, for nothing happens in the external world that has not first happened within a soul” (Fulton Sheen, Peace of Soul, p. 1). He notes that there are three basic attitudes of man that cause frustration and hence war, namely, Self-Estrangement, Isolation from others and Estrangement from God.

 

Consequent upon self-estrangement, he describes the reality of post-war man in these words, “The modern person is no longer a unity, but a confused bundle of complexes and nerves.  He is so dissociated, so alienated from himself that he sees himself less as a personality than as a battlefield where a civil war rages between a thousand and one conflicting loyalties.  There is no single overall purpose in his life.  His soul is comparable to a menagerie in which a number of beasts, each seeking its own prey, turn one upon the other….” (Peace of Soul, pp. 7-8).

 

He further notes that isolation from others also causes war. He says, “Given a soul alienated from self, lawlessness follows.  A soul with a fight inside itself will soon have a fight outside itself with others.  Once a person ceases to be of service to neighbours, he or she begins to be a burden to them; it is only a step from refusing to live with others to refusing to live for others. When Adam sinned, he accused Eve, and when Cain murdered Abel, he asked the anti-social question, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (Gen. 4:9)….Our personal self-hatred always becomes hatred of neighbour…Unhappy souls almost always blame everyone but themselves for their miseries.  Shut up within themselves, they are necessarily shut off from all others except to criticize them” (Peace of Soul, pp. 9-10).

 

Sheen also acknowledges the fact that it is material things that divide people, not spiritual, because the spirit always unites. According to him, “Once the material becomes the goal of life, a society of conflict is born….Matter divides, as spirit unites.  Divide an apple into four parts, and it is always possible to quarrel as to who has the biggest part; but if four persons learn a prayer, no one deprives the others of possessing it—the prayer becomes the basis of their unity.  When the goal of civilization consists, not in union with the Heavenly Father, but in the acquisition of material things, there is an increase in the potentialities of envy, greed, and war. Divided people then seek a dictator to bring them together, not in the unity of love, but in the false unity of the three P’s—Power, Police, and  Politics” (Peace of Soul,p. 10).

 

Self-estrangement and isolation from others have their roots in separation from God.  He explains that, “Once the hub of the wheel, which is God, is lost, the spokes, which are human beings, fall apart” (Peace of Soul, p. 10). Our problem is that many of us do not want God in our lives.  He emphasizes that “There is rarely a disrupted, frustrated soul, critical and envious of his neighbour, who is not at the same time an antireligious individual.  Organized atheism is thus a projection of self-hatred; no one hates God without first hating himself…” (Peace of Soul, pp. 10-11).

 

How do we overcome this “civil war” in our soul, which gives birth to world war? It is by carrying out God’s will in our lives.  St. Alphonsus Liguori’s statement quoted earlier supports this fact.  He affirms that “He who is united with the divine will, enjoys, even in this life, a perpetual peace” Whenever we allow material things to divide us, we pay more attention to our body, certainly to the detriment of our soul.  In his book entitled Nineteen Reasons Why You Should Read your Bible Every day (p. 24), Fr. Eugene Ezeofor notes that: “There are two beasts fighting inside you.  The first, Body (flesh) feeds on laziness, inactivity, lack of good habits, enjoyment, pleasure, prayerlessness…and the like. The second, Soul (spirit) feeds on discipline, formation of good habits, prayerfulness…and the like. Guess which beast will win the battle? The one you feed wins the battle.”

 

As Nigerians prepare for 2019 General Elections, I strongly urge everyone to do it in the right way, by following all the rules and regulations. Vote for the candidate of your choice; do not accept bribe from any politician; vote according to your conscience and never allow anyone to sway you, so that your conscience will be at peace. Do all within your power to avoid rigging, and avoid any act of violence.  Avoid hate speech and settle amicably whatever differences you have with your neighbour. Somebody once described “an opponent” as “a friend at the opposite side.”   For the losers, please, accept the loss in good faith, without heating the polity unduly. Wait for your time, because God’s time will continue to be the best.

 

Let me conclude with St. Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians. He says, “…put on the whole armour of God, so that on the evil day, you may resist the enemy, and after fighting  to the end, stand your ground.  Take truth as your belt, justice as your breastplace, and as your shoes, the readiness to announce the Gospel of peace. Always hold in your hand the shield of faith to repel the flaming arrows of the devil.  Finally, use the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God (Eph. 6:13-17). If you heed these pieces of advice, you will have peace.

By Rev. Fr. Mark Ajiga