There’s Always a Way Back to Peace - Fr. Paul Shelton, SJ 4.12.26

There are moments in life that shake us to the core. You can feel it—not just in your mind, but in your body. The fear. The pressure. The quiet voice that wonders, am I enough? The uncertainty of change. The hesitation to be fully known. It’s disorienting… like walking through a mirror maze on a tilted floor—nothing feels steady, and you’re not quite sure which way is forward. And when we feel that way, something shifts in us. We turn inward. We isolate. We lose patience. We become reactive, anxious… even agitated. Most of us don’t lose our faith—we lose our peace. And when peace disappears, fear quietly takes over. But into that exact space—the locked rooms of fear, the unsettled heart, the restless mind—Jesus speaks the same words: “Peace be with you.” How do we find peace? It’s found through prayer, through community, through remembering that we belong to God—and to each other. Today, Father Shelton reminds us that no matter where we find ourselves—overwhelmed, uncertain, or just trying to hold it all together—there is always a way back to peace.