WITH MARY, PEACE ON EARTH
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those whom He loves.”
In our human customs, the first month of the year is the month of greetings, prayers, blessings, and good wishes. Among the most frequently expressed wishes, because they are dear to the heart of each and everyone, is that of peace: peace on earth, among nations, within families, and in the heart of each person.
This unanimity of the human aspiration for peace is like a divine seed in every man and woman living on earth. For without peace, human existence is troubled and restless. Thus, the coming of the Son of God in our human flesh through the mystery of the Incarnation also brings us the grace of peace, as the account of the Nativity of Jesus attests. It is for us to welcome this gift of peace.
The Divine Gift of Peace
At the heart of the unique and incomparable event of the Nativity of Jesus emerges a fact that is at once a revelation, a teaching, and a call—even a prayer: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those whom He loves” (Lk 2:14).
This hymn of glory reveals and teaches us, on the one hand, that God dwells on high, beyond the heavens, beyond the reach of our eyes. On the other hand, it teaches us that the coming of the Son of God is a pledge of peace for people on earth. That is why He is given the title Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), for He came to gather together the scattered children of God.
By taking flesh to become man on earth, the Word of God assumed the human condition in its entirety—sin excepted—without losing His divinity. Thus, He is true God and true man. The Word of God affirms: “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (Jn 1:16). This superabundance of grace obtained for us through His birth ennobled our human nature with His divine presence. The Incarnation is therefore the proof of our restoration in God after the fall through original sin.
For by clothing Himself in our sinful nature, He also raised us to the dignity of sons and daughters of God the Father. In doing so, He reconciled heaven and earth, making us—earthly creatures—beings destined for eternal beatitude. Through Him, we now know God from within, because we have become sons in the Son.
This abundance of graces with which God has filled us in Jesus also came to us through Mary, His Mother, whom He deigned to share with us at the foot of the Cross: “Behold your mother” (Jn 19:26)
The Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Peace
The motherhood of the Virgin Mary is not merely physical. Otherwise, it would have benefited only Jesus, born of her according to the flesh. But the Son wished to associate us with the benefits of Mary’s maternal grace. The Mother of God herself proved worthy of assuming the multitude of God’s sons and daughters as her children. Let us recall her wholly maternal attention and her intercession at the wedding at Cana to save the honor of the newlyweds (Jn 2:1–11). Through her intercession with Jesus, Mary showed and demonstrated her maternal care for every human person. Like God Himself, the Virgin Mary makes no distinction among people. The well-being of humanity lies at the heart of her concerns. In most of her apparitions throughout the world, Mary never tires of praying for peace and of calling people to work for it together with God.
It is precisely in light of her maternal concern for peace in the world that the Church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, welcomed and instituted the World Day of Peace. This globally recognized Catholic initiative, celebrated on January 1, was launched by Pope Paul VI in 1968 and placed under the maternal gaze of the Virgin Mary.
What a beautiful divine inspiration it is that New Year’s Day is entrusted to the maternal protection of Mary, invoked under the title of Our Lady of Peace! By entrusting New Year’s Day to the benevolent protection of our heavenly Mother, the Church places each and every day of the new year under her maternal care.
In faith, we know the power of the Virgin Mary’s intercession. This means that the grace of peace, so dear to the human heart, is granted to people through the intercession of Mary, Queen of Heaven. But is the gift granted by God and obtained through Mary’s prayer always welcomed by people themselves? Therein lies the fundamental question concerning the effective presence of peace on the earth of humankind.
Committing and Working for Peace with the Holy Family
We can appreciate the abundance of graces brought to us by the Nativity of Jesus through the various feasts and solemnities of the Christmas season. Let us note in particular the Feast of the Holy Family. During this Christmas season, when family bonds are rediscovered and strengthened, peace is the cement that consolidates them. Since the family is society in miniature, peace within families radiates into society, and peace in society is likewise felt within families.
Since the grace of the coming of the Son of God flows even into our families, is there not here a call to work for peace in society by beginning with the family? In return, would not a shared decision and common effort toward national—even international—reconciliation be the guarantee of a certain and lasting peace within families and among individuals?
The Christmas season invites us to contemplate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, celebrated in the grace of the Nativity, so as to draw inspiration from it and strengthen our family virtues.
If, following the Catholic Church—which has promoted the World Day of Peace since 1968—the United Nations designated September 21 in 2001 as the International Day of Peace, it is because it, too, wished to work toward peace. To this end, September 21 is promoted annually as a day of nonviolence and ceasefire. But is that enough for peace to come about among belligerents, between nations and rival factions? Concrete efforts arising from courageous decisions must be made for the good of all.
In faith, we can recognize that, in the spiritual order, peace is already a divine will and a grace granted to humanity. What remains is for us to welcome this grace and to bring it about in the concrete reality of our earthly existence. Our human involvement is expected. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Peace, helps us in this
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