First Steps for Inner Peace

"that you may become Children of Light”

God is Light and Jesus is the Christ—the Anointed One—who was sent by God to bring light to the world in order to renew our minds and transform our hearts. When Jesus sent out seventy missionary disciples two-by-two throughout the Holy Land two thousand years ago, he sent them as Children of Light to proclaim the Kingdom of God with demonstrations of power to heal and to impart peace. It was a peace that not only implied less anxiety or inner division; but bestowed the fruit of the Spirit of God, which brings not only peace, but, gradually also faith, love, joy, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, and self-control.

Today, the Spirit of Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart to impart his peace. Tell God:

1.     I will seek first the Light and listen to my conscience. The first step in receiving inner peace is to listen to the voice of God speaking to us in our hearts telling us to do good and to avoid evil. Every person has the capacity to hear this voice. Those who don't listen to their conscience and live only thinking about what pleases them without any reference to doing what is right, don't have the capacity to receive this peace. When we realize that we have the choice to live a noble life and we begin to repent of our sins and the darkness in our lives, then the process of preparing to receive God's peace begins.

2.     I renounce darkness and sin and believe that Jesus, the son of Mary, is your Anointed One. God is Love and Jesus taught us to love God with all our minds and hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we begin to walk in the light and love of Jesus, we begin to see the materialistic culture that surrounds us: the culture of abortion, abuse, adultery, exploitation, fornication, theft, deceit, lies and murder. We realize that we cannot have one foot in each world. A choice must be made. If we want to live a good life and experience that peace that surpasses all understanding, we must renounce the darkness and choose to believe and walk in the Light.

3.     I will be merciful and forgive everyone, including myself. Reflecting God’s merciful love in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy is at the heart of loving God. The light and love that God wants to pour out into us is also for those around us. Jesus assured us that only the merciful can receive God's mercy. This begins with forgiving all those who have hurt or offended us. We cannot hold resentment towards anyone—including God. We must also pray for our enemies and persecutors, as well as for those who have earthly authority that they may lead according to the Light of God.

4.     I will pray daily, walk in your Light, and ask to be filled with your Spirit. The only way to grow in our inner peace is to grow in intimacy with God by setting aside time each day to enter into an honest heart-to-heart conversation with Him. Nothing can substitute for a daily encounter in which we listen to God, give praise and thanks to Him as well as ask for forgiveness and for what we need, especially for more of the Spirit of God. This process of renewal and transformation is about entering into an intimate partnership with God where we listen to Him, trust Him and do whatever He tells us.

5.     I will bring your Light and your help to places of darkness. Be the light. Those who have begun the process of totally surrendering themselves to God and becoming missionary disciples, are able to carry God’s presence in a way that bears spiritual fruit for others. We must shine wherever He has placed us with the ardent light and love that only comes from God. The world doesn't really have a problem of darkness; it has a problem of a lack of light. When we become Children of Light, we will proclaim the Kingdom of God with the power to heal and to impart his peace to the world.

The next steps in this process lead us in being filled more and more with the peace of God as our friendship and partnership with him grows and is made perfect. It is not enough to be close to God; we need to learn how to lean on him and not on our own understanding. It means that God will call us out of our comfort zone as we shift from asking him to bless our plans to asking how we can bless his. We will do our bit—and he will do the heavy lifting. Listening to the voice of God, trusting in him with all our heart, and doing whatever the Spirit of God tells us or nudges us to do—this is the daily plan for a true disciple.

Continuing with further steps in being filled with his peace will allow the Spirit of God to renew and direct us more intimately with his light and love and to transform us into the men and women that we were created to be. In this process of renewal and transformation, a spiritual mentor is often of crucial importance. MorningStar.Charity is committed to mentoring those whom God has called to be His chosen Children of Light in the world.

The peace of the Lord be with you! Shalom, shalom!! 

Deacon Frederick Everett (Papa Fred)

President, MorningStar.Charity

June 29, 2026

Solemnity of Ss. Peter & Paul

Today, the Spirit of Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart to impart his peace. Tell God: I will seek first the Light and listen to my conscience. I renounce darkness and sin and believe that Jesus, the son of Mary, is your Anointed One. I will be merciful and forgive everyone, including myself. I will pray daily, walk in your Light, and ask to be filled with your Spirit. I will bring your Light and your help to places of darkness.