Day 10 – Peace – An Advent Journey for the Discerning Heart – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

An Advent Journey for the Discerning Heart:
Prepare your heart for Christ through Scripture, the saints, and the gentle practice of daily listening.

Week Two: Following the Voice of Christ

DAY 10 – Peace

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14.27 RSV

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Peace is not something the world can create. It is the gift of Christ Himself. Advent invites the heart to receive this peace, not as a feeling that comes and goes, but as a Presence that remains. The peace Christ offers does not depend on circumstances. It does not rise or fall with events. It flows from His nearness.

The world’s peace is fragile. It depends on everything going well. Christ’s peace is different. It enters the heart even in weakness, loss, and uncertainty. It is steady because He is steady. It is strong because He is strong. It is calm because He is calm.

Peace does not mean the absence of struggle. It means the presence of Someone greater within the struggle. The discerning heart learns to lean on this peace and to return to it throughout the day. Christ desires to form a quiet center within us where His presence is our rest.

Advent helps us welcome this peace so it can shape the thoughts we think, the choices we make, and the way we encounter the world.

Journey with the Saints –

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

“May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your Mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling and Your resting place.”
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, Prayer to the Trinity

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity understood peace as the fruit of God dwelling within the soul. For her, peace was not the result of control or certainty. It was the result of surrender. She trusted that God was at work in the hidden depths of her soul even when she felt nothing.

Elizabeth teaches us that peace grows when the heart stops fighting its circumstances and begins resting in God’s presence. She believed that the soul becomes a dwelling place for God when it welcomes His peace and allows Him to quiet its movements.

Her teaching shows that peace is not created by the soul. Peace is received. It is the gift of the indwelling God.

Reflection for the Listening Heart

Today invites you to notice where your peace is easily shaken. What unsettles you. What pulls your heart into anxiety or fear. These moments do not mean you lack faith. They reveal where Christ desires to bring deeper healing.

Peace grows when the heart returns to Christ again and again. Even a simple turning of the heart can invite His calm into a moment of confusion. Peace becomes a way of seeing, a way of breathing, a way of listening.

Ask yourself: Where is Christ offering me His peace today. What would it look like for me to rest more deeply in Him.

A Simple Practice for Today

Pause once this morning and once this evening. Place your hand over your heart and say slowly, “Jesus, give peace to my soul.” Breathe gently and let His presence quiet you. Return to this prayer whenever you feel troubled.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are my peace. Quiet the thoughts that trouble me and calm the fears that rise within. Make my soul a dwelling place for Your presence. Teach me to rest in Your peace in every moment and to trust the strength of Your love. Deepen in me the peace that only You can give. Amen.