“‘Since we are all united with Christ, who is our Peace,’ says St. Gregory of Nyssa, ‘let us put all enmity to death and thus prove by our lives that we believe in him. Let us reconcile not only those who oppose us from without but also those which cause inner disturbances within us; flesh and spirit.’ [21] To be a mature Christian described by St. Gregory, one able to put all enmity to death, is the goal of the ordinary Christian, a goal won by constant prayer as well as surrender of the will to God. During many periods of history, the goal seemed far distant, when causing the death of the enemy was chosen over causing death to enmity. But in all periods, the teaching of the Eucharist, of the holy flesh and blood of Christ, has been maintained. The Eucharist, with its concept of human person as vaulting to the heavens, is a secure ground for Christian peace and peacemaking. Can we, believing the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ, the Messiah, ever destroy the bodies and shed the blood of human beings for whom he gave his life on the cross?”

– Eileen Egan, co-founder of Pax Christi USA, in Peace Be With You (Orbis Books, 1999), 164-5; quoting St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Perfect Christian in Short Breviary (Saint John’s Abbey Press: Collegeville, 1975) 554.