6 April, Maundy Thursday: Peace be with you.

At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27.

I was teaching an RE lesson to 14 year olds when an almighty disturbance broke out between two girls who were best friends and sitting next to each other, an arrangement that had worked well so far. The lesson was going to be wasted and the next one would be more difficult if I got this wrong!

The expected course of action would have been to despatch them to the deputy head, which would mean escalating the matter and possibly involving parents. I sent them to Sister Carmel in her warm chaplain’s room round the corner. They made it back to us before the end of the lesson with sheepish smiles.

I would have appreciated a resource like this in those early days of teaching. It is not always easy for young people to step back from a disagreement and make peace, but if they do not learn this skill when young, when will they ever learn?

At Christian CND we recognise the importance of children’s and youth work and see the children and young people as vital members of the Body of Christ.

We have published a new resource called ‘Peace be with you’, which helps young people to be peacemakers. The resource looks at different aspects of God’s peace and explores what that means in our everyday lives. It contains varied activities which are rooted in scripture with real-world applications and is suitable for all ages.

Youth and children’s workers and volunteers can request a free copy from us using the form at: http://christiancnd.org.uk/youth-resource/

Source: Christian CND via ICN.

The Dove of the Holy Spirit is also the Dove of Peace. This one is at the Church in the Attic that welcomed Catholic worshippers in Amsterdam after the Reformation. Though they were worshipping illegally, they were tolerated, left in peace.

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June 10, Our Lord in the Attic III. Pentecost: best gift of God above.

 

Last September I promised to return to the hidden Catholic church – hidden in plain view – in Amsterdam. I didn’t expect it to take so long!

Here is one of its treasures. This dove hovers over the sacristy, just above where the priest would have vested for Mass. In itself the carving is a prayer, raised by the sculptor and whoever placed it here. It also invites those who see it to prayer, especially the priest who would be preparing to proclaim the Word.

Here then is a verse from the Pentecost hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus:

O guide our minds with thy blessed light,
With love our hearts inflame;
And with thy strength, which never decays
Confirm our mortal frame.

We can make those words our own this Pentecost, and pray that all pastors and ministers – ourselves included – may have hearts aflame when they go among God’s people.