Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Thoughts for the Week - Fr. R. Taouk 
13th November 2016

Supernatural Peace - A Gift to Those Who Submit to God's Will
by Rev. Fr. Leo Pyzalski C.Ss.R.

Any opposition to God results in unrest, affliction of spirit and unhappiness. The more deliberate their opposition or revolt, the more excruciating their moral suffering. Supernatural, heavenly peace descends upon souls abandoned to God, as a superabundant reward for all the acts of self-denial which are inevitable upon the total submission to the Will of God.

No one can expect perfect peace the very moment he puts foot upon the road of surrender to the Divine Will. It is but gradually that a fervent soul approaches the sublime summits of an undisturbed mystical rest in God. Even this initial and partial peace is a real treasure on Earth, incomparably more conducive to real happiness than all merely human and natural gratifications. A tiny bit of Divine peace exceeds in value huge mountains of earthly pleasures, for supernatural peace constitutes the very core of our happiness, both on Earth and in eternity.

Only deliberate opposition to the Divine Will definitely deprives our soul of supernatural peace and bliss. Whatever sacrifices God may impose upon us on the road to Heaven and sanctity, He will never demand the sacrifice of that inner, purely spiritual, truly Divine peace which inevitably results from our union with God's Will, or even from our sincere efforts to effect that celestial union. The more ardent a soul's love for God, the more she will suffer at the very thought of possible future infidelity. If anything on Earth is able to disquiet a soul abandoned to God, it will be the fear of future infidelities to Divine grace.

Souls faithful to grace and relying upon grace manage to preserve their inner peace, despite clear consciousness of their own helplessness in matters of their salvation and sanctification by deepening and perfecting their childlike confidence in God. Childlike confidence in God can reach so high a degree of perfection that the soul feels practically certain of perseverance. It is the Holy Ghost Himself who establishes that moral certitude in a faithful soul and preserves her from all disquietude. After all, then, solid inner peace based upon God's grace and mercy can be arrived at by souls who wholeheartedly cooperate with grace.

Divine peace can be won only through continued and assiduous exertion, through many acts of self-denial and sacrifices offered to God. An easy-going life will never be a peaceful life, in the supernatural sense. If you want peace, prepare for war. The most difficult aspect of submission to the Divine Will is that of humble surrender to all legitimate representatives of God, regardless of their virtues. A soul unfaithful in meeting the obligations of holy obedience deludes herself if she makes herself believe that she is loving God's Will nonetheless. Since her good will is not sincere enough, she cannot enjoy the Divine peace promised to those lovingly united with the Will of God.