The Beauty of the Divine Exchange
In a letter addressed to Mother Cecilia, late 19th to mid 20th century mystic Luisa Piccarreta, “Little Daughter of the Divine Will,” wrote the following: “If there is peace, there is God. His children are as though kneaded in peace; therefore they are peacemakers, and bearers of peace. Their words, their manners, are never boisterous or sharp, but embalmed with the balm of peace, such as to sweeten the most embittered hearts; so much so, that those who are restless feel humiliated and confused in the face of a peaceful soul.”
The soul that has tasted the goodness of the Divine Will, the Eternal Fiat, is a soul that can truly exuberate the supernatural fruit of the Holy Spirit known as peace. As our Lord teaches us in Sacred Scripture, “But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you.” John 14:26-27.
Notice the connection our Lord makes between the sending of the Holy Spirit with the giving of His peace. And it is not the world’s definition of peace, which deals with merely the absence of hostility. Nor is it the usual human experience of peace, which is always temporal and fleeting, and which can be easily lost with just a touch of basic disturbance. Our Lord is speaking of supernatural peace, which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit at work within the soul. This type of peace which our Lord, and Luisa, are speaking about is an act which proceeds from a soul in a state of grace, and which is noted for its wholeness and completeness. One could say it produces a serene stillness of heart and sweet quietness of mind.
This type of peace becomes the substance of a fortified soul. Indeed, nothing exterior, or even interior, to the person can cause it to cease, for it plants its roots deep within the soul. It only leaves when we allow it to, or rather make the decision that we no longer wish to let it dwell within us. Supernatural peace can not be experienced nor understood by the individual in a state of mortal sin. As for the one in a state of perennial venial sin, such a state would only indicate that such a person has freely chosen to relinquish the operation of the Divine Will within the soul, insofar as there is a momentary consent of the human will to perform the venial sin, thus robbing it of the inner workings of the Blessed Trinity in that action.
The supernatural fruit of peace only has freedom to operate insofar as we allow God to reign in the soul. Notice how Luisa writes that the restless are confused in the face of a peaceful soul. This is because the restless are accustomed to giving dominion over to the whims of the human will, with all its fragile emotion and stubborn pride. Whereas the soul who possesses the Divine Will, with all the accompanying fruits of the Holy Ghost, experiences supernatural peace and fullness of contentment. Where there is God, there is peace. This is the beauty of the Divine Exchange: we possess all of God, and He in turn possesses all of us. May this peace make its home within our souls. Soon enough, we shall all experience the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and then we shall see the Kingdom of the Divine Will alive and thriving before our eyes and within our hearts as the world is transformed. May you belong to this Triumph through your Consecration to Jesus in Mary.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
