Homily: Solemnity of Mary

Solemnity of Mary (Luke 2:16-21)

          A forgotten part of the Feast we celebrate today is that this is The World Day of Prayer for Peace. We begin the new year realizing that we are a long way from achieving world peace. We have 56 conflicts in the world at the present time. If we study history, we see that this is the largest number of wars since World War II. Some would say that World War III is going on right now, but it hasn’t been officially declared.

                We might be pessimistic as to whether there can be a comprehensive peace throughout the world. We all know that wars make normal life impossible. The United Nations has a list of basic human rights. What are some of those rights? Everyone has a right to food, clothing and shelter. As we observe what is going on in the Gaza strip, Israel and Jordon where there has been an ongoing war for a little over a year, we see the destruction that wars cause.

We see how people have had their homes bombed. We see how people are in danger of starving to death. People are exposed to the elements lacking proper clothing in the cold. A generation of children can’t go to school. And we also see people who are unable to receive medical care. Yes, normal life is impossible in a war zone. We see these realities in places of conflict throughout the world.

We can be pessimistic. We can say it is natural for people to fight with one another. We can say there is a blackness in our hearts that causes competition for the resources of the world. We can hold that the only way to peace is if everyone is afraid of the weapons other countries possess. But is all this true?

St. John the XXIII who was Pope from 1958 to 1963 was the first Pontiff to teach about peacemaking in the modern world. His encyclical entitled Pacem et Terres or Peace in the World represented the one of the first times a modern Pope called for the end to all war. His successors have all done the same.

St. John XXIII had an optimistic view of humanity. He wrote:

              “The creator of the world has imprinted on the human heart an order which conscience reveals enjoining each person to obey: Humanity shows the Law written our hearts. Our conscience bears witness to that divine law.”

              John XXIII firmly believed that because we are made in the likeness of God, we crave that the world be orderly as creation itself is orderly. We are naturally drawn to the virtues Jesus taught to the world.

              We read in the Gospel about the shepherds coming to visit the Christ Child on Christmas morning. The shepherds shared the message the angels had given to them about the birth of Jesus. The story is punctuated by the statement that Mary held all these things in her heart. What the shepherds said about a savior coming into the world touched Mary’s soul. She knew what was of God as well as what wasn’t of God. She knew this because she was a person of prayer.

              On this first day of the year, it is easy to be pessimistic. But one of the three Theological virtues is hope. Christians exercise the virtue of hope. We remember today that we are one with God. As good Pope John said, “Peace on earth which people of every time and place have hoped for can be established if we cooperate with the order laid down by God from the beginning of creation.” We pray today that 2025 will be a year that is remembered for leaders who want peace above everything else.