De vera pace in solo Deo quaerenda
The Nature of True Peace
True peace is found only in Christ through humility, self-denial, and the mortification of disordered desires.
Peace be with you; it is I. Don't be afraid. All salvation and true peace of soul consist in Christ Jesus. Whoever loves Christ has peace and finds rest in Him; he doesn't desire to seek anything beyond or above Him. The peace of a faithful soul in this life is to bear many adversities for the love of God and the name of Christ. Anyone who thinks and feels otherwise is deceived and wandering. He labors in vain who does not put God first in every deed and thought, and who does not seek and desire Him with a pure heart. There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord; but there is great peace for those who love Your law, O Lord. The peace that Christ taught and promised exists in profound humility, in the denial of one's own will, in the mortification of every disordered desire, and in the rejection of all worldly praise and external consolation in things that pass away.
Guarding the Heart from Creatures
The soul must guard its senses against the allure of temporal things, which are fleeting and deceptive if not directed toward God.
Guard your heart from within and keep watch over your senses from without, so that you aren't caught by any harmful allure or distraction for your soul. Created things are often helpful if they are directed toward the praise and honor of the Creator, or if they are used for some useful purpose for yourself or others in a moderate and discreet way. However, beautiful things often harm us if we look at them with curiosity, shamelessness, or bad desires, and they please us in ways that go against reason and the honor of God. For just as the good guard themselves, so the careless are overcome by vices. Riches tempt and money corrupts; pleasures infect and many delicacies kill; knowledge inflates and power swells; honors elevate, while the wicked despise humble morals; vain praises seduce light souls. Everyone who seeks these earthly things and holds them in high regard is foolish and reckless; they cannot satisfy the soul, nor do they allow it to rest. All temporal things are flawed and impermanent, and apart from God, nothing is perfect, nor should anything be held as the greatest joy or the highest good. In no living creature, whether a beautiful painting, noble lineage, tall stature, or great authority, should you place your thoughts and desires, if you don’t want to be deceived, disturbed, or corrupted; for everything is ultimately vain, slippery, and harmful, unless you draw everything to God, from whom all good comes, and in whom all things live and exist.
Humility and the Pure Heart
By renouncing self-reliance and offering all glory to God, the soul attains the purity of heart necessary to see Him.
Therefore, don't take pride in yourself, you fragile and mortal human—you who are guilty in so many ways, quick to slip into evil, and weak when it comes to standing firm and remaining in what is good. Don't put too much trust in yourself, and don't stand fixed on your own thoughts or presume too much about others. Instead, whatever good you see and understand in yourself and in all creatures, offer and ascribe it all, purely and completely, to God. Then you'll find peace and rest of heart in Christ, and not in any created good; and that sweet and holy word of Christ, preached by Him on the mountain, will be fulfilled in you and through you.✦ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.✦ To Him be praise, honor, and glory from every creature, forever and ever. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Pax vobis ego sum: nolite timere. In Christo Iesu tota salus et vera pax animae consistit. Et qui Christum diligit habet pacem et in eo quiescit: nec ultra eum nec supra eum quid quaerere plus affectat. Pax animae fidelis in hac vita: ferre multa adversa pro amore Dei et nomine Christi. Decipitur et errat: qui aliter sentit et cogitat. In vanum laborat; qui Deum in omni facto suo et cogitatu non praeponit: nec ipsum pure quaerit et cupit. Non est pax impiis dicit Dominus: sed pax multa diligentibus legem tuam Domine. Pax quam Christus docuit et promisit, in profunda humilitate existit; et in abnegatione propriae voluntatis, in mortificatione omnis pravae delectationis: in abiectione omnis mundanae laudis et externae consolationis in rebus perituris.
Custodi ergo cor tuum ab intra, et omnes sensus tuos ab extra: ne capiaris aliqua illecebra et recreatione animae tuae nociva. Iuvant saepe creaturae si ad Creatoris laudem et honorem Dei recte et pure referantur: vel ad aliquam utilitatem sui vel alterius profectum moderate et discrete assumantur. Nocent autem saepe res pulchrae si curiose impudice et male concupitae aspiciantur et desuper delectant: et contra rationem et honorem Dei placent et animum movent. Nam sicut boni se custodiunt: ita incauti vincuntur vitiis. Temptant divitiae, corrumpunt pecuniae; inficiunt deliciae, necant epulae multae: inflant scientiae, tument potentiae; elevant honores, respuunt perversi humiles mores: vanae laudes seducunt animos leves. Fatui sunt omnes et vecordes: qui ista terrena quaerunt et pro magno reputant; quae animam satiare non possunt: nec quiescere permittunt. Omnia temporalia defectuosa et indurabilia sunt et praeter Deum nil est perfectum, nec pro summo gaudio et optimo bono habendum. In nulla ergo creatura viva, vel pulchra pictura, aut nobili genitura, aut alta statura, aut magna praelatura, pone cogitatum et desiderium tuum: si non vis falli, turbari, et inquinari; quia totum vanum lubricum et noxium est: nisi omnia trahas ad Deum a quo omne bonum, et in quo omnia vivunt et consistunt.
Non ergo vane glorieris homo fragilis et mortalis: in multis culpabilis et ad malum cito labilis, et ad standum et permanendum in bono debilis; nec confidas tibi ipsi nimis: nec stes fixe in te nec in aliis alte cogitando et praesumendo; sed quicquid boni consideras et intellegis in te et in omnibus creaturis: totum Deo pure et integre offer et ascribe. Tunces pacem et quietem cordis invenies in Christo et non in aliquo bono creato: et implebitur in te et de te dulce et sanctum verbum Christi ab eo in monte praedicatum. Beati mundo corde quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Cui laus honor et gloria ab omni creatura in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
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