Peace: The Struggle Against Evil

Yesterday, Benedict XVI, delivering his weekly Angelus reflection from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, said that the peace of Christ is not "the absence of conflict" but the "struggle against evil."

The peace of Jesus is the fruit of a constant struggle against evil. The battle that Jesus has decided to fight is not against men or human powers but against the enemy of God and man, Satan. Those who desire to resist this enemy, remaining faithful to God and the good, must necessarily deal with misunderstandings and sometimes very real persecution.

Thus, those who intend to follow Jesus and commit themselves without compromises to the truth must know that they will face opposition and will become, despite themselves, a sign of division among persons, even within their own families.