“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Peace is one of the greatest gifts God longs to pour into our hearts – not a fleeting feeling, but a deep, steady calm that anchors us no matter what is swirling around us. Saint Paul reminds us that this peace comes from the Lord Himself – “the Lord of peace,” the One who knows our hearts, our burdens, and our longing for rest. When we pray the rosary, we are meditating on the Prince of Peace. This discipline of contemplation on Jesus’ life organically cultivates a disposition of interior peace. 

In The Imitation of Christ, we’re given a tender and challenging roadmap for how to open ourselves to this gift. These simple, quiet invitations – to choose humility, simplicity, surrender, and a heart aligned with God’s will – make space for true serenity to grow within us. They gently reorder our desires and draw us into the freedom that comes from letting God be God. 

As we pray and move toward peace in our own lives, may we receive these words with openness and hope, trusting that the Lord of peace Himself is ready to meet us, steady us, and bless us… at all times and in every way.

Christ speaking:

My child, now I will teach you the way of peace and true freedom.

  • Try, my child, to do the will of another rather than your own. 
  • Always choose to have less rather than more.
  • Always seek to take the last place, and to be subject to everyone.
  • Always desire and pray that the will of God may be fulfilled in you perfectly.

You will see that if you are disposed to do this you will find peace and serenity.  

 

Let us pray:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi