Finding Peace -- Keeping Peace

     “Jesus chided Martha, not because she gave herself to activity, but because she was too anxious about it: ‘Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things’ (Lk 10:41). God wants activity, but not anxiety, for even in activity, the soul should attend to “the one thing necessary,” that is, union with Him. Therefore, as soon as a soul perceives that it is beginning to lose its interior calm, it should interrupt its work, if possible, at least for an instant, and retire into its interior with God. These brief moments of pause, frequently repeated, will accustom it, little by little, to keep calm and recollected in God, even in the most absorbing activity.” Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.


     So often our days are spent in frantic activity. So much to do! So little time! We rush from task to task, trying to be efficient and get everything done. We want to be productive and in our haste, we lose our peace. Our head is spinning. Our neck feels tense. We long to get off of this merry-go-round of life and retreat from it all! We have lost our way in the mad dash and have taken our eyes off God!


     The duties and responsibilities that each of us have, should not be a deterrent in our union with God: in fact, they are the very thing that can help us grow in holiness when offered to God. We need to slow down, recollect ourselves and be present to the present moment. The moment that God has given to us in order to seek Him. We need to be mindful of what we are doing, and not allow it to carry us away – away from Him – away from His peace, which we desperately need!

     Martha’s heart was in the right place in the beginning. She wanted to serve Jesus and make Him feel welcomed. At some point, her focus was taken away from Jesus and placed solely on the task at hand. Her work became a chore and a burden. It was no longer a gift. Christ’s words to Martha were not to knock her down, but to lift her up. Lift her from the drudgery of what she was doing, to gaze into the eyes of the Master. To focus once more on the One she was serving, and restore peace to her again.

     “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” ( Jn 14 vs 27).  We cannot bring peace to our souls. This is a gift from God and something He longs to share with us. Fr. Gabriel is clear, that in order to achieve it, we must stay focused on God. That can be difficult for us, but we can move in this direction at the start of our day, by offering it to God. This little exercise can remind us we are never alone. God is with us and is delighted to be a part of our day. We can ask for His grace to accomplish our activities and to do them for love of Him. A red flag should wave when we have lost our peace, reminding us to retire into the womb of our soul, reuniting with God. Asking our guardian angel to nudge us when we take our focus from God is also a great idea!

     Martha must have taken Jesus’ words to heart. Her focused must have changed, at some point, from the work she was doing, to the One she was serving. As her relationship with Christ deepened, so did her knowledge of Him.  Sometime later, Martha was able to say, “I have come to believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (Jn 11 vs 27).

     When we come to know the One we are serving, along with the realization that we cannot do anything without God’s grace -- that we are God’s little infants, unable to even hold up our heads -- we will become totally dependent upon God and find His power and His peace!

     Our activities will no longer separate us from God, but bring about “the one thing necessary” -- our union with Him. We will grow in grace and virtue like St. Martha. We will know that we are helpless on our own, but like St. Paul, we too will say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).