The bold, blessed sacrifice of peacemaking

With violent conflict breaking out all over the world—especially in that wartorn arc from Libya, Iraq and Syria to Afghanistan and Pakistan, plus parts of Africa, with tense rumblings in East Asia—it’s opportune to recall one Beatitude from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

We cannot but note that the Lord quite pointedly cited peacemakers, not peacekeepers. Sadly, keeping the peace has often meant building up armaments to maintain the balance of power or undertaking military action to perpetuate the dominance by a major power or a ruling class.