Peace is the tranquility of order

“What is peace?” Some might say: “Peace is the absence of war;” “Peace is freedom from turmoil;” “Peace is the avoidance of hostility;” “Peace is the termination of anxiety,” and so on. Some people think that peace is nirvana, but this word can mean death, or at least a state of feelinglessness. Is peace just a form of anesthesia? Is peace merely the cessation of pain? If so, why do we long for it so? We should want peace to convey something positive, something that improves our lives. We should be concerned about what peace is, rather than what peace is not.

The British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead described peace as “a trust in the efficacy of beauty.” Spinoza said that “Peace is not the absence of war: it is a virtue born out of the strength of the heart.” These definitions seem a bit vague and flowery for those of us searching for true peace of heart. The desire for interior peace is written upon our human nature. What is true peace?

St. Augustine, the greatest philosopher of antiquity, defines peace as the “tranquility of order.” Augustine is referring to the personal experience of peace that we all long for. Like St. Augustine himself before his conversion at age 32, human beings have lived disorderly and tortured lives ever since they were wounded by Original Sin. Their souls became “restless” and this restlessness created the age-old longing for peace. But peace can be elusive.We cannot choose peace the way we can pluck an apple from an apple tree. We must choose something else before we are able to experience peace. That something else, Augustine tells us, is order. What kind of order?

The order of Love: of putting God, who created us from love and for love, first and center in our lives and putting others before ourselves. Augustine’s most celebrated phrase appears in the beginning of his  autobiography, Confessions: “Our hearts are restless and will not rest until they find rest in You.” Peace replaces restlessness only when our lives are directed to God. Only when we love God, and our neighbor as ourselves, will we experience the tranquility of order that is peace. To love God is to do His will; to always choose the highest good. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 And he promised, if we do, that we would be “reordered” and know the peace that only He can give. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27