Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Try to have, my beloved brother, a divine and heavenly peace in your heart. I do not speak of peace with others, called by another name, charity; for that I repeat (the words) of the Apostle to the Thessalonians: Now concerning love of the brothers, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for your yourselves have been taught by God to love one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9). I speak of peace within one’s own heart, which often is the greater struggle for us, arousing in the soul a thousand disturbances, anguishes, and disquiet with which the demon succeeds in his aim of thwarting us in the way of perfection.
The distinguishing characteristic of the friends of God consists in this interior peace, which Christ so often recommended to his disciples, repeating: Peace be with you (Luke10:5; 24:36) for he is called “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Disturbance, on the contrary, is characteristic of reprobates: There is no peace for the wicked. (Isaiah 48:22). Jesus cannot abide where there is no peace. - Bl. Bernardo
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