Ave Maria Meditations
Peace is the simplicity of spirit, the serenity of conscience, the tranquility of the soul and the bond of love. Peace is order, it is the harmony in each one of us, it is a continual joy that is born of witnessing a clear conscience. It is the holy joy of a heart wherein God reigns. Peace is the way to perfection or, even better, in peace dwells perfection.
And the devil, who knows all this very well, does everything possible to cause us to lose our peace. The soul need to be saddened but only one thing: an offense against God. But even on this point one must be very prudent. One must certainly regret one’s failures, but with a peaceful sorrow and always trusting in divine mercy. One must be aware of certain reproaches and remorse against oneself which most of the time come from our enemy who wants to disturb our peace in God.
If such reproaches and remorse humble us and make us quick to do the right thing, without taking away our confidence in God, we may be assured that they come from God. However, if they confuse us and make us fearful, distrustful, lazy, or slow to do the right thing, we may be sure that they come from the devil and we should consequently push them aside, finding our refuge and confidence in God.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
