"If he wants to exercise this ministry toward others, the priest himself must have received this grace of reconciliation and peace: he must be at peace with God (living in the freedom and joy of knowing that he is a child of God), he must be reconciled with himself (freely accepting his own weakness), and he must be reconciled with others (capable of accepting them as they are, forgiving their errors, holding no grudges against anyone). He must also be reconciled with life as it is, not being bitter or resentful toward existence. Even if life's paths are sometimes dark, painful, or deceiving, he must always maintain this trust that the Lord, like a good shepherd, "leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Ps 23:3). It seems to me that the deepest meaning of the seventh beatitude could be expressed like this: blessed are those who are capable of welcoming and keeping in themselves the peace of God, in order to transmit it later to others - not spreading fear, worry, division, agitation, or bitterness around themselves, but radiating the great, kind, divine peace. May all our lives be a conduit of the Risen Christ's gift to his disciples: "Peace be with you" (Jn 20:19).