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
“And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you;go in peace.’” — Luke 7:50
Almost everyone is moved by the powerful image of Michelangelo’s Pietà, in which Mary cradles the lifeless body of Jesus after the Crucifixion.
But recently, I came upon another Pietà statue in which Mary’s posture was uniquely different. Instead of wrapping her arms around Jesus, Mary’s arms are extended outward. The palms of her hands are facing upward in a posture that expresses her complete openness to the will of God.
Grief is a fact of life. Loss can come when we least expect it. Like Mary, we can cradle the memories of more peaceful times. But Mary’s life can also inspire us to extend our arms and hearts to accept God’s will and allow his grace to bring us to a new place of peace.
— Chris Hannigan-Wiehn
IS THERE A LOSS in your life that causes you to long for peaceful times gone by? Can you cradle those memories in your heart and open yourself to God’s gift of peace?
Prayer: Mary, Queen of Peace, sit with me today as I extend my arms and open my hands to God asking for the healing peace of his divine love.
January 18
“For everything there is a season; and a time for every matter under the heavens: / A time to love, and a time to hate; / a time for war, and a time for peace.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1,8
As the mother of Jesus, Mary experienced the full range of human life. She felt love in her family; she witnessed acts of hatred, too, some directed toward her Son. Similarly, we witness acts of rejection and selfishness even among families and friends. We see violence in neighborhoods, sports arenas, workplaces, all around the world.
Through it all, Mary was able to keep peace in her heart, and we can, too. Mary’s life invites us to seek the Lord’s abiding peace, especially in times of trouble. Praying the Rosary is a favorite spiritual practice for many. The Rosary can be a powerful weapon of prayer, one that enables us to meditate with Mary and Jesus on the mysteries they shared in life.
— Mary Beth Desmond
THINK OF A TIME when you truly felt loved and at peace. Recall an experience of feeling rejection or opposition in your personal or professional life. Pray a Rosary, or part of the Rosary, and bring those times to God.
Prayer: Mary, pray that the Rosary may become a weapon of choice for me, to find peace and bring peace to the world.
January 19
“Let him turn away from evil and do right; / let him seek peace and pursue it.” — 1 Peter 3:11
It is easy to give into what looks glamorous and popular, but these passing elements will not bring us everlasting peace. The apostle Peter warns us about giving into evil ways and tells us that peace is something we must seek and pursue. We must actively look for where God plants seeds of peace and then be on watch for where it grows and spreads.
Our Blessed Mother is here to help us to do just that. We are given daily opportunities to turn away from evil and to do good, but we sometimes fail in that task. The next time you have a choice to make, turn to Mary for the inspiration and guidance to lead you away from evil and seek peace.
— Gina Sannasardo
WHAT PREVENTS YOU from being a peacemaker in this world? Invite Mary to help you to notice where peace can grow today.
Prayer: Mary, as the mother of Jesus and our spiritual mother, be with us as we wrestle