A peaceful heart is receptive to the action and movement of the spirit. “The devil is ever solicitous to banish peace from your mind, knowing well that God only dwells there in peace and that it is in peace that he works his wonders.” Saint Francis de Sales said the same thing to one of his followers in a letter of spiritual direction, urging her to keep a tranquil heart. Only a tranquil heart is capable of truly loving.
Remaining calm in the face of trouble, uneasiness, and interior disturbances is necessary for God to act in our lives. And the only time we have good discernment is when we are at peace. When we are preoccupied by worry, disturbed by events in our lives, our emotions can get the best of us and we don’t have an objective grasp on reality — we are tempted to see everything in black and white and question everything in our life. On the other hand, when we are at peace we see life clearly.
We should adopt the following rule of conduct: when a problem has robbed us of our peace, the most important thing is not to solve the problem in the hope regaining our peace, but to regain a minimum of peacefulness , and then to see what we can do to face the problem.
~ Father Jacques Philippe / A French Priest, a member of the Community of the Beatitudes, and a renowned spiritual director
Are you inviting disturbances into your life? What are they? How do you build them out, so you can let God in?
