Jn 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21[Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Peace be with you. Twice Jesus says to the disciples: “Peace be with you.” Only after that does Jesus breathe on them the Holy Spirit. What follows is the power to forgive. Peace is the prerequisite to receiving the Holy Spirit. After the Spirit is breathed on us, we are given the power to forgive.
To understand the Holy Spirit is to receive peace first and then forgiveness of sins afterwards. Peace comes from Jesus. Forgiveness comes from that peace Jesus gives. When we are at peace, revenge evaporates and hatred ceases, and then it is easy to forgive.
To find Jesus is to look at the cross. To see God is to wonder at his creation. To feel the Holy Spirit is to experience true peace and receive forgiveness.