Peace

(St. Francis de Sales)

“With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil that can happen to a soul. Just as sedition and internal disorders bring total ruin on a state and leave it helpless to resist a foreign invader, so also if our heart is inwardly troubled and disturbed it loses both the strength necessary to maintain the virtues it had acquired and the means to resist the temptations of the enemy. He then uses his utmost efforts to fish in troubled waters, as they say.

Anxiety proceeds from an inordinate desire to be freed from a present evil or to acquire a hoped for good. Yet there is nothing that tends more to increase evil and prevent enjoyment of good than to be disturbed and anxious. Birds stay caught in nets and traps because when they find themselves ensnared they flutter about wildly trying to escape and in so doing entangle themselves all the more.”

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“What words can oppose the flood of thoughts troubling your heart? Do not attempt to stop them; that will only make the pain worse. Do not try to conquer the temptations; the effort will only make them stronger. Disdain them, and do not dwell on them. Bring to mind an image of Jesus Christ crucified and say, ‘Here is my hope; here is the flowing fountain of my happiness. Here is the heart of my soul and the soul of my heart.’ Hear our Lord say to Abraham and to you: ‘Be not afraid; I am your protector.’ (cf. Gen. 15:1). What is it that you seek upon the earth other than your God? And you already possess him.

Be firm in your resolutions. Stay in the boat. Let the storm come. While Jesus lives, you will not die. He is sleeping, but he will awaken to calm the storm at the right time (Matt. 8:24-26).”

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“Strive to remain in that peace and tranquility that our Lord has given you. ‘The peace of God,’ says St. Paul, ‘which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:7). Do you not see that he says the peace of God ‘passes all understanding’? That is to teach you that you should never trouble yourself to have any sentiment other than that of the peace of God.

Now, the peace of God is the peace that proves the resolutions we have taken for God and the path that God has ordained for us. Walk firmly in the way in which the providence of God has placed you, without looking either to the right or to the left. That is the way of perfection for you. This satisfaction of spirit—even if it be without savor—is worth more than a thousand delightful consolations. If God intends you to face some difficulties, you must receive them from his hand—the hand you have taken hold of—and you must not let go of him until he has brought you to the point of your perfection. You will see that God’s providence will accomplish all things according to your intentions, provided they be entirely in conformity with His. What is needed of you is a courage that is a little more vigorous and resolute.”

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“The truth must be confessed: we are but poor souls who can barely accomplish any good. But God, who is infinitely good, contents himself with our small strides and is pleased by the strengthening of our heart (Ps. 10:17). What does it mean to strengthen our heart? According to the holy Word, ‘God is greater than our hearts’ (1 John 3:20), and our heart is greater than the whole world. When our heart, alone in its meditation, makes itself ready for the service it owes to God—that is to say, when it makes its plans to serve God, to honor him, to serve our neighbor, to mortify the exterior and interior senses, and other such good purposes—that is when the heart works miracles.”

~St. Francis de Sales