Jesus can bring.
— Gina Sannasardo
WHERE IS THE SOURCE of peace in your life? This day, invite Mary to help you to deepen your relationship with Jesus.
Prayer: Blessed Mother, please come close to me. Guide me in my life today so that I might receive the peaceful presence of your Son.
January 12
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7
While traveling to Ephesus (in Turkey), I had the opportunity to visit what is believed to have been Mary’s last home. Walking the grounds, I was struck with such a sense of peace. Mary’s life had so many different dimensions, and peace was among them. Luke’s Gospel tells us that Mary listened to the shepherds who came to honor the baby Jesus and reflected on what they said in her heart.
Do we keep the messages that God sends to us in our hearts? When troubles or challenges arise, that is the time for us to be still and listen to what God is saying to us. He may be asking us to change something. Or he may be asking us to just sit peacefully, trusting that he has everything under control.
Mary’s life is a testament to following God’s guidance. And because of that, her life reflected peace. The same is true for us.
— Suzette Horyza
PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER the ways that you can invite the peace of the Lord to fill your heart this day.
Prayer: Mary, help me to be still when difficulties arise, that I may be open to receiving the peace that only Jesus can bring.
January 13
“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, / and all her paths are peace. / She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; / those who hold her fast are called happy.” — Proverbs 3:17-18
This beautiful Scripture speaks eloquently about the peace that comes when one finds wisdom. But we can easily substitute “Mary” as the subject of this prose. In Scripture, few adjectives are attached to Mary. Regardless of what is happening, her demeanor is at peace because she walks with Christ. Mary is also a tree of life, inviting us to cling to her in times of unrest or struggle, to take refuge by her during the great storms of our lives, and to seek shelter and peace in her motherly embrace.
When we cling to Mary, the road to Jesus becomes clear. Her paths are peaceful ones for they lead us to her Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
— Lauren Nelson
HAVE YOU EVER FOUND PEACE with Mary’s help? Spend a few moments asking for her to bring you peace today.
Prayer: Mary, I seek the peace that only you can help me find. Lead me to your beloved Son and keep me safe within your love.
January 14
“Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” — Luke 2:19
As God’s plan of salvation unfolds, there are three key moments when Mary deeply reflects on her experiences in her heart: the Annunciation, the Christmas visit of the shepherds, and finding the lost child Jesus in the Temple.
Interior silence and peace are integral to reflective prayer. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta provided some insight into the connection. She wrote:
The fruit of Silence is Prayer
The fruit of Prayer is Faith
The fruit of Faith is Love
The fruit of Love is Service
The fruit of Service is Peace
Mary’s life offers us an example of how silent reflection will deepen our prayer, enrich our faith, increase our capacity to love, draw us to serve others, and fill our heart with peace.
Mary models and invites us to silent reflection, and Mother Teresa models and invites us to serve. When we do so we receive the interior peace that Jesus promised to us. This is how and where world peace begins, in our hearts.
— Bob Frazee
HOW CAN YOU embrace quiet, reflective prayer today?
Prayer: Blessed Mother, help me to discover the peace that comes from a life of prayer and service to your Son, Jesus Christ.
January 15
“Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” — Hebrews 12:14
If we seek to live in holiness and peace, then others will come to Jesus through our words and actions. Being the presence of Christ is not an easy task, because we live in a world filled with sin, criticism, judgment, and condemnation. How can we strive to be holy? Who can help us to live in this world as people of peace?
Mary’s life offers us a pathway to holiness and a way to a peaceful heart. Mary did not wish harm to those who turned her away from the inn when Jesus was to be born; nor did she attack those who rejected her Son — even those who crucified him. Throughout her life Mary remained a woman of peace. Our mother Mary invites us to follow her example of holiness when dealing with difficult people and negative situations.
— Gina Sannasardo
HOW CAN YOU EXHIBIT holiness today? Invite Mary’s peaceful spirit to help you, especially when dealing with difficult people.
Prayer: Blessed Mother, we look to you with eager hearts. Help us be righteous in your Son’s eyes so that one day we may enter into his glorious kingdom.
January 16
“And his name will be called … Prince of Peace.” — Isaiah 9:6
As a devout Jew, Mary was among those who were still living with hope for the Messiah. She would have been very familiar with the wonderful prophecies of Isaiah. Yet little did Mary know that she was the one that God had chosen to bring his Son, the Prince of Peace, into the world.
Our world, though, is so very far from peaceful. There are divisions between nations and within them. Friends have falling-outs, and family members are not talking to one another. We might well ask, where is this Prince of Peace?
Mary birthed peace into our world. Like Mary, we are charged to bring the Prince of Peace into our world. But that peace begins in our own hearts. With Mary’s help we can find Jesus alive in us and bring the presence of the Prince of Peace into our troubled and broken world.
— Christine Grano
WHAT IS THE STATE of my heart? Filled with peace? Or am I full of anxiety, anger, or fear? How can I carry peace inside me like Mary did, and birth peace into my circle of influence?
Prayer: Mary, pray for me that I allow the Lord to change my heart and infuse me with peace to birth into my world.
January 17
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