Dear Brothers and Sisters!
On the first day of the year, the liturgy resounds in the Church throughout the
world with the ancient priestly blessing that we heard during today’s first
reading: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon
you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give
you peace” (Num 6:24-26). This blessing was entrusted by God, through Moses, to
Aaron and his sons, that is, to the priests of the people of Israel. It is a
triple blessing filled with light, radiating from the repetition of the name of
God, the Lord, and from the image of his face. In fact, in order to be blessed,
we have to stand in God’s presence, take his Name upon us and remain in the cone
of light that issues from his Face, in a space lit up by his gaze, diffusing
grace and peace.
This was the very experience that the shepherds of Bethlehem had, who reappear
in today’s Gospel. They had the experience of standing in God’s presence, they
received his blessing not in the hall of a majestic palace, in the presence of a
great sovereign, but in a stable, before a “babe lying in a manger” (Lk 2:16).
From this child, a new light issues forth, shining in the darkness of the night,
as we can see in so many paintings depicting Christ’s Nativity. Henceforth, it
is from him that blessing comes, from his name – Jesus, meaning “God saves” –
and from his human face, in which God, the almighty Lord of heaven and earth,
chose to become incarnate, concealing his glory under the veil of our flesh, so
as to reveal fully to us his goodness (cf. Tit 3:4).
The first to be swept up by this blessing was Mary the virgin, the spouse of
Joseph, chosen by God from the first moment of her existence to be the mother of
his incarnate Son. She is the “blessed among women” (Lk 1:42) – in the words of
Saint Elizabeth’s greeting. Her whole life was spent in the light of the Lord,
within the radius of his name and of the face of God incarnate in Jesus, the “blessed
fruit of her womb”. This is how Luke’s Gospel presents her to us: fully intent
upon guarding and meditating in her heart upon everything concerning her son
Jesus (cf. Lk 2:19, 51).
The mystery of her divine motherhood that we celebrate
today contains in superabundant measure the gift of grace that all human
motherhood bears within it, so much so that the fruitfulness of the womb has
always been associated with God’s blessing. The Mother of God is the first of
the blessed, and it is she who bears the blessing; she is the woman who received
Jesus into herself and brought him forth for the whole human family. In the
words of the liturgy: “without losing the glory of virginity, [she] brought
forth into the world the eternal light, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Preface I of the
Blessed Virgin Mary).
Mary is the mother and model of the Church, who receives the divine Word in
faith and offers herself to God as the “good soil” in which he can continue to
accomplish his mystery of salvation. The Church also participates in the mystery
of divine motherhood, through preaching, which sows the seed of the Gospel
throughout the world, and through the sacraments, which communicate grace and
divine life to men. The Church exercises her motherhood especially in the
sacrament of Baptism, when she generates God’s children from water and the Holy
Spirit, who cries out in each of them: “Abba, Father!” (Gal 4:6). Like Mary, the
Church is the mediator of God’s blessing for the world: she receives it in
receiving Jesus and she transmits it in bearing Jesus. He is the mercy and the
peace that the world, of itself, cannot give, and which it needs always, at least as
much as bread
.
Dear friends, peace, in the fullest and highest sense, is the sum and synthesis
of all blessings. So when two friends meet, they greet one another, wishing each
other peace. The Church too, on the first day of the year, invokes this supreme
good in a special way; she does so, like the Virgin Mary, by revealing Jesus to
all, for as Saint Paul says, “He is our peace” (Eph 2:14), and at the same time
the “way” by which individuals and peoples can reach this goal to which we all
aspire. With this deep desire in my heart, I am glad to welcome and greet all of
you who have come to Saint Peter’s Basilica on this 45th World Day of Peace:
Cardinals, Ambassadors from so many friendly countries, who more than ever on
this happy occasion share with me and with the Holy See the desire for renewed
commitment to the promotion of peace in the world; the President of the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who with the Secretary and the
officials of the Dicastery work in a particular way towards this goal; the other
Bishops and Authorities present; the representatives of ecclesial Associations
and Movements and all of you, brothers and sisters, especially those among you
who work in the field of educating the young. Indeed – as you know – the role of
education is what I highlighted in my Message for this year.
“Educating Young People in Justice and Peace” is a task for every generation,
and thanks be to God, after the tragedies of the two great world wars, the human
family has shown increasing awareness of it, as we can witness, on the one hand,
from international statements and initiatives, and on the other, from the
emergence among young people themselves, in recent decades, of many different
forms of social commitment in this field. For the ecclesial community, educating
men and women in peace is part of the mission received from Christ, it is an
integral part of evangelization, because the Gospel of Christ is also the Gospel
of justice and peace. But the Church, in recent times, has articulated a demand
that affects everyone with a sensitive and responsible conscience regarding
humanity’s future; the demand to respond to a decisive challenge that consists
precisely in education. Why is this a “challenge”? For at least two reasons: in
the first place, because in the present age, so strongly marked by a
technological mentality, the desire to educate and not merely to instruct cannot
be taken for granted, it is a choice; in the second place, because the culture
of relativism raises a radical question: does it still make sense to educate?
And then, to educate for what?
Naturally now is not the time to address these fundamental questions, which I
have tried to answer on other occasions. Instead I would like to underline the
fact that, in the face of the shadows that obscure the horizon of today’s world,
to assume responsibility for educating young people in knowledge of the truth,
in fundamental values and virtues, is to look to the future with hope. And in
this commitment to a holistic education, formation in justice and peace has a
place. Boys and girls today are growing up in a world that has, so to speak,
become smaller, where contacts between different cultures and traditions, even
if not always direct, are constant. For them, now more than ever, it is
indispensable to learn the importance and the art of peaceful coexistence,
mutual respect, dialogue and understanding. Young people by their nature are
open to these attitudes, but the social reality in which they grow up can lead
them to think and act in the opposite way, even to be intolerant and violent.
Only a solid education of their consciences can protect them from these risks
and make them capable of carrying on the fight, depending always and solely on
the power of truth and good. This education begins in the family and is
developed at school and in other formative experiences. It is essentially about
helping infants, children and adolescents to develop a personality that combines
a profound sense of justice with respect for their neighbour, with a capacity to
address conflicts without arrogance, with the inner strength to bear witness to
good, even when it involves sacrifice, with forgiveness and reconciliation. Thus
they will be able to become people of peace and builders of peace.
In this task of educating young generations, a particular responsibility lies
with religious communities. Every pathway of authentic religious formation
guides the person, from the most tender age, to know God, to love him and to do
his will. God is love, he is just and peaceable, and anyone wishing to honour
him must first of all act like a child following his father’s example. One of
the Psalms says: “The Lord does deeds of justice, gives judgment for all who are
oppressed ... The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy”
(Ps 102:6,8). In God, justice and mercy come together perfectly, as Jesus showed
us through the testimony of his life. In Jesus, “love and truth” have met,
“justice and peace” have embraced (cf. Ps 84:11). In these days, the Church is
celebrating the great mystery of the Incarnation: God’s truth has sprung from
the earth and justice looks down from heaven, the earth has yielded its fruit
(cf. Ps 84:12,13). God has spoken to us in his Son Jesus. Let us hear what God
has to say: “a voice that speaks of peace” (Ps 84:9). Jesus is a way that can be
travelled, open to everyone. He is the path of peace. Today the Virgin Mary
points him out to us, she shows us the Way: let us walk in it! And you, Holy
Mother of God, accompany us with your protection. Amen.
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