We long for peace but fail to understand why we cannot find it. When watching the news at night, most of what we see reflects what is inside of us. There is an intrinsic, never-to-be-neglected connection between what seems radically private and what’s political and social. Thus, there can be no peace on the big stage when there is greed, jealousy, unwillingness to forgive, and unwillingness to compromise within our private hearts. Fr. Ron Rolheiser writes that when the outer body gets sick, it nearly always signals a breakdown in the internal immune system. Hence, given the state of our world today, one can be pretty sure that there is not much in the way of antibodies (charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, long-suffering, faith, mildness, gentleness, and chastity) within the body of humanity, namely, within our private lives. When we cannot get along with each other within our own marriages and families, we should not be surprised that countries do not get along with each other. When we cannot move beyond past hurts in our own lives, we should not expect the issues causing violence in Northern Ireland, Israel, Bosnia, Iran, and Africa to be resolved simply by better politics. When we spend billions of dollars a year on cosmetics and clothing that serve to build up our appearance and make us less vulnerable, we have no right to self-righteously demand that governments cut their budgets for defense. When nearly all of us have borrowed money to have, right now, the things we cannot yet afford but want, then we should have some understanding of why our countries have all overspent and are hopelessly in debt. Waging peace requires more than simply confronting the powers that be. What must be confronted is our own greed, hurt, jealousy, inability to forgive, compromise, and respect. Peace is the opposite of internal discord or longing for something we lack. When we are not at peace, it is because we are experiencing chaos or sensing some unfinished business inside us. To be at peace, something has to have an inner consistency so that all of its movements are in harmony with each other, and it must also have a completeness so that it is not still aching for something it is missing.