Peace is the very thing you ask for, and rightly, for there is nothing equal to this. Peace is the mother of all good things, the foundation of joy, and where this is wanting, everything is useless. But you must understand what sort of peace you seek and from whence it comes. There is a human peace that comes from avenging wrongs, from suffering no ill, from choosing comfort over truth, but this quickly dissolves and is no advantage. This is not the peace I would have you pursue. What you must seek is the peace of God, which is fixed and steadfast, and which Christ Himself left to His disciples when He said, "My peace I give unto you." This peace is not like that of the world, which is often mischievous and unprofitable. The peace He gives renders you stronger, for it is peace with Him, a reconciliation where earth becomes heaven.
Now know that this peace is not always found in the absence of conflict, for I am not come to send a false peace. Sometimes when the diseased part is cut off and the mutinous element is removed, then true peace comes to the rest of the body. The physician preserves the body by amputating the incurable part, and thus heaven is united to earth. When you pray for deliverance from evil, know that the very act of warring against sin within your own heart, of setting aside softness, remissness, and carelessness in hearing the word, is itself the path to peace. It is not enough merely to be free from one vice; you must cultivate all parts of virtue: a careful hearing of the word, a continual recollection, fortitude, contempt of worldly things. If two thoughts fight within you, one bidding revenge and the other endurance, let not anger or spite hold the prize. Let the peace of God stand as umpire, and it will bestow the victory on that which endures, persuading you that God is Peace and has made peace with you freely, of His own will.
You pray for your family, for protection. Rightly so, for the makers of peace are called the sons of God. See that you cultivate this peace among yourselves, for when you war against a brother, you war against the members of Christ. What if he be an outcast or open to contempt? It is not the will of the Father that one of these little ones should perish. For the sake of each believer, angels behold the face of the Father. Do not despise the majestic usages of the Church where we say “Peace unto all” so many times, but let it be a truth in your hearts, not merely a form of words. When you give thanks for what the Father does, you echo the angels who at His birth proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.” That good will is reconciliation itself; the wall of partition is torn down. In the prayers, in the supplications, in the salutations, we ask for the Angel of peace. Let this peace rule in your hearts.
Above all, follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. The dove that appeared with the olive branch long ago published the good tidings of a common calm for the whole world, but now the Holy Spirit, that Spirit of meekness appearing in the same fashion, points us to our Deliverer from all evils. He brings us, not a mere branch, but adoption as sons, leading the whole world up into heaven. So pursue this peace and holiness, that you may see the Lord and be surrounded by that steadfast peace which is from above, a peace not as the world gives, but as Christ bestows.