Mary allowed peace to rule in her, and the peace that lived in her heart touched others in a most profound way. Despite the difficulties and challenges that Mary faced as the mother of Jesus, her life radiated peace and thanksgiving because she was at peace in her relationship with the Lord. Our Blessed Mother models for us a life of faithful discipleship, a life of the trust that brings peace.
— Gina Sannasardo
HOW CAN YOU LET PEACE reign in your heart? In what ways can you allow peace to become your gift to those around you? Today, ask Mary to place the peace of her Son in your heart.
Prayer: Blessed Mother, we pray that we, too, would learn to let your Son’s peace rule in our hearts so that we might serve one another with love and peace.
January 27
“She was greatly troubled at the saying.” — Luke 1:29
The Annunciation must have been quite an emotional experience for Mary. The Scriptures tell us she was initially troubled and afraid, then confused, because she didn’t understand. By the time the angel left her, Mary was at peace.
Mary’s interior peace was revealed in the most ordinary way: she went to help her cousin Elizabeth. Helping meant doing the laundry, cooking, and cleaning. It meant making preparations for a new baby’s arrival.
There’s a wonderful lesson for us in these ordinary gestures. We don’t need to do great heroic deeds, just loving ones. Loving others starts with a desire to respond to God’s grace. That desire grows into an intention, then a free choice to act. As Mary shows us, it can be as simple as offering help to a relative or friend.
When we answer the call of God in our lives, we may start out troubled, fearful, or confused, as Mary did. But we can also experience the interior peace that comes from surrendering to God’s will.
— Bob Frazee
HOW CAN WE CHANGE one ordinary deed today into an act of love?
Prayer: Mary, help me follow your example. Show me how to surrender, intend, and then act.
January 28
“The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” — Numbers 6:26
I was raised by my mother after my parents divorced. She was plagued with alcohol addiction and mental illness. Sometimes my mother became suddenly agitated and made me the target of her unhappiness and despair. Everything about my life growing up was unstable and unpredictable.
Desperate for peace, I developed a close relationship with Jesus and a love for his mother. I often shared my burdens with Mary and asked her to help me find peace. She became a mother to me.
Mary is here to help us on life’s journey. She leads us to our gracious Lord, who longs to give us the gift of his peace.
— Michael Grano
RECALL A TIME when you sought and received peace in a difficult situation, perhaps one that was out of your control. Be grateful for that moment, and ask God to “look upon you kindly” with peace again today.
Prayer: Mary, please ask Jesus to send agents of peace to my life through friends and family, and help me to bring his peace to others.
January 29
“Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins any, they are retained.’” — John 20:19,23
Witnessing her Son’s execution at the foot of the cross, Mary was challenged. At the time, she may not have fully understood why Jesus had to die as he did. But Mary knew that to be at peace and live in peace she had to accept God’s will and live a heart-centered life trusting in God’s mercy and love. Despite injustice, violence, abandonment, and betrayal, she forgave.
Mary’s life challenges us to focus on peace and forgiveness, rather than injury and pain. When we are wronged, it is easy to hold on to negative thoughts and feelings. We can choose to turn the offense over and over in our minds and hold on to the injury as if that will somehow punish the perpetrator or justify our bitterness. That choice will never bring us peace.
— Jane Zimmerman
SEEK MARY’S HELP this day in letting go of any anger and hurt that is in your heart. Choose peace for your heart.
Prayer: Dear Mary, help me to forgive and to focus on the blessings all around me, so that my heart may be filled with the peace of Christ, your Son.
January 30
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” — John 13:14
I wonder if Jesus remembered his own experiences as a child with his mother when he washed the feet of the disciples. Certainly, this ritual highlights the importance of humility and the peace and comfort it brings. No one modeled that better than Mary.
Mary must have washed the feet of her Son many times. Some of my fondest memories of fatherhood are of bathing our children when they were newborns. Warm water, cooing, stretching of arms and legs, and that prolonged baby gaze often gave way to their first smiles. Those were peaceful moments. I’m sure Mary treasured many such moments.
I recently had the honor of assisting at a sponge bath for a hospice patient I was visiting. The aide’s gentle respect for the patient’s dignity was humbling. This bath was peaceful, too. It was one of the final preparations for this man’s journey into eternal life.
— Bob Frazee
HOW CAN YOU RESPOND to Jesus’ invitation to wash one another’s feet?
Prayer: Mother Mary, teach me to seek peace in humble acts of service to others.
January 31
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” —John 14:27
Apart from Jesus we can find no peace. Thankfully, he is always with us; he will never abandon us. When our lives are difficult and filled with troubles, we may feel that the Lord has forgotten about us or that he is angry with us. We may be tempted to distance ourselves from God. But when we walk away from God, we also walk away from peace.
Mary shows us how to find peace in the midst of uncertainty. Her entire life was woven with the steel threads of a faith strong enough to keep it all together in good times and in bad. Peace lived in the depths of Mary’s soul, not because her life was easy, but because she understood that God was always with her. Left to fend for herself, Mary would have been in trouble. But the knowledge that she walked with God gave Mary great peace and strength.
— Dr. Mary Amore
HOW CAN YOU COME to a deeper realization that you are not alone, that Jesus is present in your life today and will be there for you tomorrow?
Prayer: Mary, life without Jesus is unbearable. Help me to walk with Christ, that I may have peace in my heart each day.
~ Love ~
February 1
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” — John 3:16-17
Are you in a loving relationship with the Lord? How would you describe this divine relationship with God to another person?
Mary experienced the fullness of God’s love as the mother of our Savior. In the face of uncertainty,