Live, Love, and Serve in the Image of Christ
Finding Peace in Uncertain Times
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Finding Peace in Uncertain Times
Nina Marie Corona, founder of We Thirst and AFIRE ministries, spoke to a large crowd at St. Jude church on July 14, 2021 about how we can walk in peace even when our lives, the lives of our loved ones, or the world around us seems in chaos. When we discover how to have peace in our hearts, we are then able to share that peace with others around us.
“Peace” can have multiple meanings, but Nina defined it as “a state of tranquility or quiet: such as freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.” This can seem almost impossible when we are going through hard or even tragic times. As Catholics, we may struggle spiritually when we have “negative” emotions, thinking maybe we are bad Catholics or that our faith is weak. But in fact, she said, no emotions are actually negative. They all serve a purpose. Our anger at injustice or our sorrow when we see someone suffering spurs us on to do something to make a difference. If we didn’t have those painful, seemingly “negative” emotions, we would be robots.
So the first step is to understand our emotions as neutral in themselves and as having a purpose. The next is to place those emotions before the Lord and ask what He wants us to do with them, how we can be instruments of peace through them. This takes an act of faith, and those emotions can actually help us to grow in faith.
Faith, Nina reminded us, means living in trust and being fully dependent on God. No matter what I may be feeling or how things may appear, “faith is living in trust that whatever I encounter in life, I can rest in the belief and comfort of knowing that God is right there with me, and that somehow all things will come together for good (as we read in Rom 8:28). I’m likely to feel more peaceful if I can trust in that promise.”
This kind of faith is more challenging than just saying a few prayers every day or going to Mass on Sunday. Prayer is the first step, and Mass is the greatest prayer (since Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist), but we must spend time with God and get to know Him intimately in order to experience His peace.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” Jesus told us (John 14:27). Jesus extends to us His peace; but just as it takes time to develop a relationship of trust with a new person, it also takes time with God, in order to fully enter into that peace.
Nina challenged us to examine our prayer life. Are we multi-tasking while praying? Are we talking more than listening? Do we allow ourselves to be interrupted by email or the phone? Nina shared about a 30-day silent Ignatian Retreat she went on, and she discovered that when we are quiet, God talks a lot! We need to give Him that silence so that we can hear Him and get to know Him intimately.
Nina reminded us that we are not helpless regarding our thoughts, our technology, or our time. We are in control. This is a liberating message. We can decide to only look at our emails/texts 1 or 2 times a day. We can control what images or entertainment or news we allow into our minds. As St. Thomas More said, “Do whatever you can to occupy your mind with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones.”
Our minds can wander in prayer. We need to get our minds out of the past or the future and into the present, where God is and where God’s peace always is. It takes constant effort to turn our minds back to the here-and-now rather than our worries about the future and our memories of the past.
Our life experiences come with us into our prayer life, and if we’ve been hurt (and who hasn’t), those memories can even be expressed in our bodies. We can feel sick, anxious, angry, or develop fight-or-flight habits because consciously or unconsciously we are remembering past hurts. But Nina reminded us that we can use our intellect to recognize these reactions and see how God can use these experiences to help us grow closer to Him, trust Him, and experience His peace. For most people, that peace is a journey and takes time, but if we continue to turn our thoughts and minds back to Him, we will continue to grow more and more in peace and will be able to lead others to peace, as well.
Nina shared words of wisdom from St. Ignatius Loyola, who at one time allowed the memories of his past lead him to the brink of despair: “For it is not the soul alone that should be healthy. If the mind is healthy in a healthy body, all will be healthy and much better prepared to give God greater service.” St. Ignatius learned to focus on the present, fill his mind with thoughts of God and His goodness, and be healthy in body, mind, and spirit. In that way, he was able to do immense good in the world.
If we can learn this, too, we can also do great good, especially for our families. We want to model good things for our children. We want to model good healthy habits of body, but also of mind: how to cope with painful or upsetting feelings and how to resolve them.
Nina finished with a few more practical tips for finding peace:- Continually practice bringing yourself back to the present moment where God is always waiting for you, and don’t beat yourself up when you discover you’ve wandered. Simply return peacefully to Him.
- Pray for the grace to redirect painful thoughts or wandering thoughts back to God and to peace.
- Practice self-care – good food, exercise, sleep, deep breathing.
- Maintain a healthy prayer life. If you like apps, there are many good Catholic ones, such as Pray as You Go, Examen, Hallow. Attend Mass as often as possible and spend time in Adoration.
- Do the Ignatian examen each evening (see attachment).
- Spend time in nature. Take notice of God’s great works! (Psalm 92:5)
- Watch/listen to happy or uplifting movies, videos, music. Do not let anything disturb your peace. You only need to know the basics of news and current events, not gorge on it.
In closing, Nina encouraged us to guard our peace as a precious gift and to choose carefully what we expose ourselves to. When we fill our minds with good thoughts, when we come to trust that all things will somehow work out for the good, we will experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit, including peace.
“None of this is possible without God’s grace. We always begin first by turning to God and getting to know Him more deeply and learning to trust Him more and more in every circumstance. And when we do this, we will discover, as St. Paul did, the power of God at work in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9) and through His power we will discover inner peace, even in uncertain times.”
This presentation is the first of a trilogy. On October 21, 2021, Nina’s topic will be “How to Cultivate Peace in Our Relationships” and on January 26, 2022, she will discuss “How to Cultivate Peace in the World.” Plan to join us!
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Nina Marie Corona, Founder
Currently a Doctor of Ministry candidate at Fordham University, Nina possesses a Master of Arts in Christian Spirituality from Loyola University Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts from Muhlenberg College. Nina also obtained education certification in Alcohol and Drug Counseling from Villanova University.
Nina is the founder of We Thirst Ministries and the creator and facilitator of the popular program We Thirst (Christian Reflections on Addiction), which is now available on video. Nina is also the founder and executive director of AFIRE (Active Faith Implementing Relief in the Epidemic), a 501c3 nonprofit, faith-based movement that was born out of the We Thirst series. She is also the author of When on Earth: Discovering Christian Spirituality in the Daily Happenings of Ordinary Life (a book of reflections and illustrations) and Clear Bear (a children’s picture book). Nina has authored and taught several theology / spirituality courses for Villanova University. Nina is a lifetime member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the honor society of Jesuit colleges.
A trained and experienced artist, when not teaching, presenting, or writing, Nina utilizes her artistic gifts in painting, drawing, and sculpting to express herself and the experiences that have brought both joy and pain to her life. She resides in a rural area outside of Quakertown, Pennsylvania with her husband Mark and has two adult daughters and two grandsons.
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