It's Just a Silly Excuse: Your Obstacle to Peace

When looking for peace either within our homes or within ourselves, our first step should be to to quit making excuses for our own behaviors.  Wouldn't it be interesting, as Thomas suggests, if we didn't know how to be angry?

Further, its easy to identify the "non peaceful" as they like to stir the pot so no one is happy around them, as they cannot be at peace themselves. 

But Thomas warns us that to achieve a peaceful state, we may have to suffer:  Our suffering emanates from conquering our selfish natures. 

Until next time, be imitators of Christ!
tim

Book 2, Chapter 3,

Of the good, peaceful disciple, continued..

2. You know well how to excuse and to color your own doings, but you will not accept the excuses of others. It would be more just to accuse yourself and excuse your brother. If you expect that others bear with you, you need to bear with others.


See how far you are as yet from the true charity and humility which does not know how to be angry or indignant against any one except one’s own self.

It is no great thing to mingle with the good and the meek, (Matt 5:43-48) for
this is naturally pleasing to all, and every one of us willingly enjoys peace and likes best those who agree with us: but to be able to live peaceably with the hard and perverse, or with the disorderly, or those who oppose us - this is a great grace and highly commended and most courageous.

3. There are who keep themselves in peace and keep peace also with others, and there are who neither have peace nor allow others to have peace; they are troublesome to others, but always more troublesome to themselves.

And there are those who hold themselves in peace, and study to bring others to peace; nevertheless, all our peace in this sad life lies in humble suffering rather than in not dealing with these adversities. Whoever knows how to suffer shall possess the most peace; that disciple is conqueror of himself and lord of the world, the friend of Christ, and the heir of heaven.