SOLEMNITY OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD
January 1st. World Peace Day
(text only, to print)
Today we
celebrate the feast of the maternity of the Mother of God. The Church wants us
to begin the year looking at Mary, who kept all things about Jesus in her
heart: Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart (Lk
We could
say many things about Mary, praising her dignity as Mother of God, but this theme
will appear often during this new year. For this
reason, I have thought that it was more appropriate to talk of Mary as Queen of
Peace, and of Jesus as Prince of Peace, since today is the day of prayer for
Peace.
The
message of Jesus in these Christmas feasts is a message of peace: Glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace to those on whom his favour rests (Lk
Jesus
often speaks of Peace and recommends it. Let us mention some examples.
In the Beatitudes,
Jesus says: Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God (Mt 5:9).
Jesus asks us to make peace with our brothers and sisters: If you bring your gift to the altar, and
there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go
first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Mt
5:23-24).
Jesus tells
his disciples to wish peace on entering a house: Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household' (Lk 10:5).
Jesus
said to the woman afflicted with hemorrhages: Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace (Lk
Jesus in,
during the last supper, said: Peace I
leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to
you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (Jn
John Paul
II says that if you want peace, then you should reach out to the poor, since many
people, even whole countries, live today in extreme poverty: Somalia, Rwanda,
Zaire, for example. He also recalls the war in
In the
face of all these problems, we all ask ourselves: What can we do? If we are
realistic, the answer is that, we, personally, besides praying, can’t do
much. But it is true that in many circumstances and moments in life we can put the
words of Jesus into practice.
The first
peace that we have to obtain, is peace with
God. If you are in sin, you cannot have inner peace. I do not want to insist on
this subject, because I believe that all you, in these Christmas feasts, have put
yourselves at peace with God.
We are peacemakers
when we overcome our pride, our envy, our lusts, etc. War is a consequence of
sin. Saints have been the great peacemakers.
When we
help our brethren, when you do a favour to your brother, you become a
peacemaker. Jesus, in the wedding at
When some
person insults us or speaks badly of us, or responds to us in a bad
manner, and we
are able to shut up, then we are peacemakers.
Many
discussions would disappear if we knew to shut up, although we may be right.
You bring
peace when you know to overlook the defects of your brother
or sister and you know to forgive
and to forget. Some people say: I forgive but I don’t forget.
Jesus
pardoned the adulteress and said to her to go in peace.
You bring
peace when you see that your brother is mistaken and
is going
on the wrong way, and you have the courage to tell him that his conduct is not
correct.
To offer
pardon and peace is a sign of being a good Christian.
Everything
we can and must do, we have to do with a reconciled and reconciling heart.
We can
bring peace in many ways. Let us bring and work for peace in the family, at work,
with friends, neighbours. It would not be correct to worry about the peace of
those who are far, and not about the peace of those who are near to us.
HAPPY NEW
YEAR FOR ALL!
TO
BEGIN THE YEAR
Jesus doesn’t have hands;
he only has our hands
to carry out his work today.
Jesus doesn’t have feet,
he only has our feet
to guide men on his way.
Jesus doesn’t have lips;
he only has our lips
to speak about him to men.
Jesus doesn’t have any help;
he only has our help
to gather men around him.
We are the only Bible
that people can still read.
We are the last message from God
written on facts and words.
(A text of 14th century).