⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Constantly call to mind that at every moment you are cooperating in the human and spiritual formation of those around you, and of all souls—for the blessed Communion of Saints reaches as far as that. At every moment: when you work and when you rest; when people see you happy or when they see you worried; when at your job, or out in the middle of the street, you pray as does a child of God and the peace of your soul shows through; when people see that you have suffered, that you have wept, and you smile.  (1)

Sometimes we know where stress and anxiety come from.  It might be from financial pressures.  It could be from physical ailments, it could be because we don’t know the future, or that the present has failed to meet our expectations. It may be, as is often the case for pastors, that it is not our issues, but rather the pressure the people we care for our feeling. That is often true for all of us, as we ook at our friends, our family, and see their anxiety shackling and binding them.

I really admire St. Josemaria’s words here, the impact of a soul in concert with God, and therefore a soul of peace.  Even amid the tears, even amid the suffering, and the oppression.   In the middle of ll that, we find ourselves at prayer, and knowing the character of God, knowing His love and mercy, we find rest and our souls are revived.

The secret of being at peace, is finding ourselves in a place where we are safe, secure, protected.  Where the storm is there to witness, but from a safe place. Especially a place filled with warmth and light and love.  To find ourselves within a might fortress, protected and able to rest.  Such is a place of prayer, a place where our needs are made know, and yet we also praise God for that which He has provided, from our being freed from sin, and idols, to the community, the communion in which we live.

A place where – as St Paul’s words  clearly points out – we are guarded, protected as we abide in Christ.

so find peace and rest… pray about everything, give thanks… and you will find stillness… for He is God

(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3002-3006). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.