Monasteries and monastic life are frequently associated with peace and calm. Accordingly, some are drawn to enter a monastery in the quest for inner peace and happiness. To their surprise and dismay, they discover that monastic life initially seems to rob them of the little peace they may have possessed. Then, misunderstanding what is really happening, they give up and return to the world. It is thus something of a paradox that a life promising inner peace usually exposes us to various forms of suffering. And although much of this suffering is a prelude to authentic and unshakeable peace, once true peace has been established, suffering can actually increase. We see this in Saint Paul’s resolute and peace-filled decision to press on to Jerusalem even though the Spirit warned him that imprisonment and hardship awaited him there. Similarly, Charles Lwanga and his companions while bearing Christ’s peace within their hearts, were called to surrender their lives in witness to Christ. And so it is that one of the surest ways we can distinguish true interior peace from passing buoyant moods is when peace persists even in the midst of suffering and pain. As such, this peace is bound up with hope in the trustworthiness of God’s promises and nothing that happens will ever separate us from God’s love and our final and eternal happiness.