Scottish Catholic Observer

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27).

When we offer our fellow parishioners the Sign of Peace during Mass before Communion, we are sharing and extending the Peace of Christ, a gesture in acceptance of all that has been accomplished in the celebration and of the commitment to mutual love which is made in sharing the one bread.

We are literally at peace in that moment, with ourselves, our Faith, our Lord and our community. Yet not everyone is able to find this peace, at Mass or in their daily lives.

The Holy Father’s traditional Easter Urbi et Orbi message—appealing this year for peace in Syria, the Middle East, Africa and beyond—offered both insight into the trouble spots in the world and, during this Easter celebration, hope in the Risen Christ.

“Christ is hope and comfort in a particular way for those Christian communities suffering most for their Faith on account of discrimination and persecution,” the Holy Father said on Sunday.

Civic unrest and violence, such as the conflict in Syria, and religiously motivated killing, as seen in Nigeria, is making life a struggle for Christians and non-Christians alike.

And while our own struggle to keep Faith alive in an increasingly secular society seems less of a priority than the horror and death overseas, make no mistake our values are under attack at home also.

This Easter, several senior Catholic clergymen north and south of the border—including Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Wesrminster and Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury—spoke clearly about the dangers of allowing Christianity to be airbrushed out of our history and society. Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s call for Christians to wear a Cross everyday as a symbol of belief in Christian values comes at a critical period, and not a moment too soon.

And it is not only political agendas that are marginalising Christian values. Some in the secular media, such as Kirsty Wark on Radio Scotland’s Call Kaye on Easter Monday, seem determined to keep perpetuating the myth that even the most important Christian celebrations, such as Easter, have become ‘just public holidays’ with ‘no religious significance.’

Thankfully journalist Graham Spiers was not convinced. In his Good Friday opinion column in the Scotsman, he said that the death of faith has been greatly exaggerated and that ‘Christian faith and practice are still an everyday part of people’s lives in Scotland.’

Long may that continue to be the case