Peace

A Gift of God

Seek Peace

…and pursue it

PAX

The Benedictine motto is peace or pax in Latin.

Peace is first and foremost a gift of the God of Peace! Peace is the fruit of the monk’s daily struggle with prayer, obedience, charity and self-denial. It is acquired over time and deepens as the monk takes up his commitment to his interior life with God. Peace is the fruit of loving God and one’s neighbor well; it is the fruit of learning to surrender oneself to God in the present moment. It is the fruit of remaining in the presence of God with truthfulness and love. Everyone is capable of peace with the help of God’s grace.

St. Benedict urges us to “seek peace and pursue it.” He himself was a man of deep peace, the fruit of overcoming himself, the world and the devil with the help of God.

PAX