When the Medjugorje visionaries asked Our Lady, “Who are you?”, she introduced herself to them with the words, “I am Queen of Peace.” On the first day of the apparition, the visionaries, who were children at the time, saw Our Lady with baby Jesus in her arms. She is Queen of Peace who gives us Jesus, Prince of Peace, and she is the one who leads us to Jesus. “He alone can give you peace and joy,” Our Lady often says in her messages.

Just hours before the crucifixion, Jesus said entrusted us these words, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). The peace of Jesus did not depend on external circumstances. He was in an extremely unenviable situation – he knew what would happen to him in a few hours, he knew that all the anger and hatred would come upon him. It was hard to endure the agonies of crucifixion, humiliation and mockery. But he remained calm.

We know how much pain Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane before his passion, sweating bloody sweat. Jesus endured the severe moments of pain and trials in prayer with His Father, renouncing His will, accepting the Father’s will, surrendered to the Father’s guidance. After prayer, Jesus was calm and with profound peace, He met the soldiers and Judas who had come to betray Him.

This peace that flows from prayer and surrender is what Jesus gives to us. How can we receive it? The only way we can find peace is to surrender our lives to God, trusting that he is guiding all things for our greater good. We may not be able to understand Jesus’ peace in moments of pain and suffering, but we can experience those moments with hope and trust.

When our heart is troubled by failures, fatigue, unpleasant tasks, encounters, difficult obstacles, fears and apprehensions, then the soul becomes the abyss from which all evil pours forth. A troubled heart is a danger into which we can fall and sink our lives. When the apostles found themselves in a storm, they begged Jesus to save them because the waves were lapping over the boat they were sailing in. And Jesus commanded the sea and the wind, and there was a great calmness.

Whatever we experience in this world will quickly come to an end. The joys and troubles will quickly fade away. Health fades away just as disease can be cured. Peace of heart arises when you look beyond the wall of troubles and misfortunes, beyond the wall of too many joys and pleasures. One should not grow too proud in joy and despair in trouble. Here on earth everything is limited, eternity echoes only in you. When you touch eternity, God, with your heart, then peace settles in you and certainty comes over your heart.