33 — PEACE TO MEN

December 29

Presence of God. — I place myself at the feet of the Child Jesus to consider in recollection the song of the angels: “Peace on earth to men of good will” (Lk. 2, 14).

Meditation

1 — At Bethlehem the angels announce two things: glory to God and peace to men; one corresponds to the other. No one gives glory to God as that little Child does, who lies on the hay: He alone, being the eternal Word, can give Him perfect, infinite praise worthy of Him. And no one more than Jesus the Savior brings peace to men and women; repairing the offense of sin, He reconciles man with his Creator and establishes between them a new covenant: the Creator will become Father and man His child.

Something similar takes place in our daily life: whoever observes the divine law enjoys peace; but we can also say: whoever observes the divine law gives glory to God. To the peace of men corresponds perfectly the glory of God. It is a matter, however, of that peace that comes only from Jesus, from His grace, and which we would vainly seek elsewhere.

“Peace is the tranquility of order.” Order is established by law, by the divine will: whoever fully respects the law possesses the fullness of interior peace; whoever departs, even a little, from this order loses in proportion his peace. Peace is the refreshment, the rest of the soul amid the struggles and sorrows of life; but not only for this must we strive to conquer and possess it, we must want it above all because to it corresponds the glory of God.

2 — The angels promise peace “to men of good will.” The will is “good” when it is upright, docile, resolute. Upright, that is, sincerely and totally oriented toward good. Docile, always ready to follow every indication of the divine will. Resolute, ready to adhere to God’s will, even when obstacles and difficulties intervene and sacrifices are required. Through the circumstances of life, even the smallest, the Lord continually urges us to generosity, to self-denial: we must give ourselves without hesitation, sure that, if God asks, He will also grant the strength to carry it out. Such was the conduct of the shepherds: as soon as they heard the Angel’s announcement they left everything, flock and rest, “they went with haste and found... the Child lying in the manger” (Lk. 2, 16). They were the first to find Jesus and to taste His peace.

St. Teresa of Jesus says: “Holy peace consists in conforming in everything to God’s will, in such a way that between God and the soul there is no division and between them there reigns only one will, not in words and desires, but in deeds. When the soul knows that a certain thing is of better service to her Spouse, she no longer listens to anything, neither the reasons of the intellect nor fears..., but lets faith act, without caring for her own rest and interest” (P. 3, 1). This is perfect “good will.” Mary and Joseph are its unsurpassable model: despite the obscurity of the mystery and the sacrifices, they adhered with total abandonment to the divine plan and had the supreme joy of welcoming the King of heaven in their arms. To the greatest good will corresponds the greatest union with God, peace and joy.

Colloquy

How I thank You, O Jesus, for the infinite glory You give to Your divine Father, thus making up for all the incapacity and insufficiency of us poor men and women! You are the perfect praise of the Most Holy Trinity, the splendor of Its glory: praise and thanks I give to You, O Lord! You could glorify Your Father without caring for us who had offended Him: what need has God of our good, of our happiness? But, most compassionate, You willed to give glory to Your Father precisely by giving us salvation, by giving us peace. Oh, how I desire this peace that You came to bring into the world! You alone can give it to me, You alone can fully pacify my poor heart, too often torn between the demands of Your divine love and the violence of my passions, the attractions of the world.

Give me, O Lord, Your peace; may it establish in me Your kingdom and make me a praise of glory for Your holy Name. But You will that, while expecting everything from Your grace and from Your mercy, I do not cease to work diligently to obtain this great gift of Yours.

You will give me peace if I have “good will.” A will sincere, that adheres uprightly to good, without duplicity, without evasions, without ulterior motives or compromises. O Lord, give me this upright will that at no cost departs from good, from truth; even when truth lashes me and lays bare my miseries, give me courage to love it, to accept it entirely as it is and to act accordingly. I would like, O Lord, to have a most docile will at every sign of Yours, like a light sailboat that docilely follows every breath of wind. But my will is still so hard, stubborn, difficult to bend, fixed in its positions! Make it pliable, sweetest Jesus, You who from heaven bent down to earth to carry out the will of Your Father.

And then give strength to my will, that it may know how to overcome every reluctance, every wavering and hesitation, above all when it must surmount difficulties and meet sacrifices. Lord, I would like to have an upright and resolute will to come to You straight and swift like an arrow, a will docile like the wave to the wind, to follow faithfully every indication of Your divine will. Then there would no longer be any division between my will and Yours, there would be perfect union, perfect peace. What a most lofty ideal, O Jesus, You have given to man redeemed by You! He who was in sin, and therefore so far from God as guilt is from infinite perfection, is, by Your precious merits, not only raised up from the abyss in which he lay, but called to union with God. Through Your mediation, the Master and Judge becomes Father, Friend, Spouse of the soul of good will.

O Jesus, how much You have given us, how much You have given me! To You be praise forever!