Mary and the Gift of Peace

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of Jan. 9, 2003)

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on New Year’s Eve while he was outside the diocese.

On this New Year’s Eve, the Liturgy of the Church places before us the image of Mary, Mother of God — "the God-Bearer," — and our Holy Father once again invites us to reflect on and to work for peace on this World Day of Peace. Mary and peace: how timely for us to reflect on the Mother of God and the gift of peace at the beginning of every new year, but especially on this new year of 2003 when peace is so fragile and so endangered.

Jan. 1 is the eighth day after Christmas. As we gaze on Mary, the Mother of God, the "God-Bearer," we simultaneously see her holding before us her Son, born to be the Prince of Peace. As St. Leo the Great reminds us, "the birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace." At His birth on that first Christmas, angels sang: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests" (Lk 2:14). That hymn with its promise and hope continues to echo in our hearts, especially in these days when the news remains troubling and disturbing. Surely, we turn to our Mother, the "God-Bearer," and ask: "O Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace, obtain for us true and lasting peace!"

Peace ultimately is God’s gift — not a thing, but, in fact, a Person: Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh dwelling among us. It is the role of Mary, first, to bear Jesus in her womb and, then, to bring Jesus to us, advising us to "do whatever He tells you" (cf. Jn 2:5).

Mary continues to bring Jesus to us, the Prince of Peace, so that by imitating His life in ours, by living the Gospel, we might become instruments of His peace. As each day of this new year unfolds, we must be people of peace in our thoughts, words and deeds, beginning with the family and continuing in the workplace, the school, the neighborhood and the parish.

As you know, in preparation for the New Year, our Holy Father sends a message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1. In this year’s letter of 2003, Pope John Paul II states: "In the end, peace is not essentially about structures but about people. Certain structures and mechanisms of peace — juridical, political, economic — are of course necessary and do exist, but they have been derived from nothing other than the accumulated wisdom and experience of innumerable gestures of peace made by men and women throughout history who have kept hope and have not given in to discouragement. Gestures of peace spring from the lives of people who foster peace first of all in their own hearts" (no. 9). "Gestures of peace" must be part of each day of this new year. What might some of these gestures look like?

First and last and always, there must be prayer. Daily, we must seek the gift of true peace from the Prince of Peace, asking the help of Mary, His Mother and ours. I strongly encourage the prayer of the Rosary each day. The Rosary is rooted in the Scriptures and enables us to so reflect on the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary that we relive those events in our daily lives. As you know, our Holy Father proclaimed a Year of the Rosary, beginning last October. Could not this Year of the Rosary be also a Year of true peace? We must pray for peace and the Rosary is such a powerful prayer.

A second gesture of peace encompasses the way we live and interact each day. Recall St. Paul’s advice to us this past Sunday on the Feast of the Holy Family: "Put on … heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another" (Col 3:12-13). Of all these concrete gestures of peace, forgiveness is the most difficult for us to do. In his 1997 message for World Peace Day, our Holy Father reminded us that "…no process of peace can ever begin unless an attitude of forgiveness takes root in human hearts … With deep conviction therefore I wish to appeal to everyone to seek peace along the paths of forgiveness" (no. 1).

Yes, each day of this new year must find us making "gestures of peace," not only these I have mentioned, but others as well. Again, Pope John Paul II tells us: "Gestures of peace create a tradition and a culture of peace" (no. 9).

The international scene is so very precarious and worrisome: Iraq, North Korea, the Middle East. Situations in the Church and in our individual lives are also problematic and stark. There are no magic solutions, no easy answers. The Gospel imperative is clear: "go to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and to His Mother, the "God-Bearer." So, we, like the shepherds, go again to Bethlehem to find Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manger (cf. Lk 2:16). There, united, we pray for each other and for the world, seeking the blessing of peace on each day of this new year: "The Lord look upon you kindly and give you his peace" (Nm 6:26). Amen.

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