Wish List

The other day my niece and nephew showed me the wish lists they made for Christmas. I thought about my own wish list, and inevitably what each one of us wishes for each year: peace on Earth. That, every year, is the main wish of everyone who lives here on Earth. But we have to ask ourselves: what kind of peace do we mean by it? Is this peace to come from others--those around us, from our communities and neighborhoods? Or shouldn't this peace start from ourselves? On top of it all, shouldn't this peace be first of all made with ourselves, and peace with God most of all? Shouldn't this peace be one that should mean a soul free of sin, free from our passions? As the Psalm said, 'My heart will not rest until it rests in Thee." We must then have peace with God first of all. As we continue on our journey, may our preparation be not just a fast from what we eat, but a fast from our passions. Or rather, it should be that we take out the passions from our lives, and live a life of dispassion. It is not then just a fast for a certain season or feast, but a fast that is one that comes from the heart. It is the most important fast of all--the fasting of the heart from our passions.

So as we make our wish lists, we must make it a priority to have this on top of our list--that of being at peace with the Lord, and being at peace with our selves. Then we can turn to that which is essential--a worship of God in spirit and in truth, a worship that is from the heart and free from any deceit.