Pope Leo XIV called Catholics to a steadfast openness to other people, warning that peace will not be built through force or exclusion, as he celebrated his first liturgy of the new year on Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe world is not saved by sharpening swords, nor by judging, oppressing, or eliminating our brothers and sisters,\u201d the pope said in his homily for the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Rather, he added, it is saved by \u201ctirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate, and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear.\u201d <\/p>\n
As is customary for the Jan. 1 Mass, a large group of diplomats accredited to the Holy See attended the liturgy in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, underlining the international scope of the Church\u2019s prayer for peace on the World Day of Peace, observed each year on the first day of January. <\/p>\n
A blessing for a new beginning <\/p>\n
At the start of his homily, Leo XIV pointed to the ancient biblical blessing proclaimed in the liturgy: \u201cMay the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace\u201d (Num 6:24-26). He recalled that this blessing was addressed to a people set free, Israel after slavery in Egypt, and he drew a parallel to the Christian life at the opening of a new year. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor each of us, every day can be the beginning of a new life, thanks to God\u2019s generous love, his mercy, and the response of our freedom,\u201d he said. The coming year, he continued, can be seen \u201cas an open journey to be discovered,\u201d lived with confidence \u201cfree and bearers of freedom, forgiven and bringers of forgiveness,\u201d trusting in \u201cthe closeness and goodness of the Lord who accompanies us always.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s \u2018yes\u2019 and the human face of mercy <\/p>\n
The pope centered his reflection on the mystery of the Incarnation and Mary\u2019s decisive role in salvation history. \u201cBy her \u2018yes,\u2019 she helped give a human face to the source of all mercy and benevolence: the face of Jesus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Leo XIV invited the faithful to contemplate God\u2019s love through Christ\u2019s life: \u201cThrough his eyes \u2014 first as a child, then as a young man and as an adult \u2014 the Father\u2019s love reaches us and transforms us.\u201d<\/p>\n
He urged Catholics to begin the year with renewed confidence in that love: \u201cLet us ask the Lord to help us experience at every moment, around us and upon us, the warmth of his fatherly embrace and the light of his benevolent gaze.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Unarmed and disarming\u2019 peace <\/p>\n
Echoing the theme he chose for this year\u2019s World Day of Peace message, Leo XIV returned repeatedly to the image of God\u2019s humility revealed in the Nativity. Citing St. Augustine, he emphasized \u201cthe complete gratuity of his love\u201d and described God\u2019s approach to humanity as one of radical vulnerability.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I emphasized in the message for this World Day of Peace, God presents himself to us \u2018unarmed and disarming,\u2019 as naked and defenseless as a newborn in a cradle,\u201d the pope said. <\/p>\n
That divine \u201cstyle,\u201d he suggested, is the model for Christian action in a world tempted by coercion, retaliation, and fear. Christian witness, he said, should reflect a God who does not overwhelm but invites, and who heals rather than humiliates. <\/p>\n
Mary the disciple who \u2018laid aside every defense\u2019 <\/p>\n
Leo XIV also reflected on Mary\u2019s path after Bethlehem, presenting her not only as mother but also as disciple. He described her as one who followed Jesus \u201cwith the heart of a humble disciple\u2026 all the way to the cross and the Resurrection.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTo do so, she too laid aside every defense,\u201d he said, renouncing \u201cexpectations, claims, and comforts,\u201d and \u201cconsecrating her life without reserve to the son she had received by grace.\u201d <\/p>\n
In Mary\u2019s divine motherhood, the pope added, the Church sees \u201cthe meeting of two immense, \u2018unarmed\u2019 realities\u201d: God, who \u201crenounces every privilege of his divinity to be born in the flesh\u201d (cf. Phil 2:6-11), and the human person who embraces God\u2019s will, offering \u201cthe greatest power she possesses: her freedom.\u201d <\/p>\n
A renewed mission <\/p>\n
Near the end of the homily, Leo XIV recalled a Jan. 1 homily of St. John Paul II that invited Christians to begin again with courage after the Jubilee of 2000. As the Church approaches the conclusion of the Jubilee of Hope, Leo XIV urged the faithful to return to the Nativity with faith and then step forward with renewed commitment. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet us approach it as the place of \u2018unarmed and disarming\u2019 peace par excellence,\u201d he said, and then, \u201clike the humble witnesses at the grotto,\u201d to set out once more, \u201cglorifying and praising God\u201d (Lk 2:20) for what they have seen and heard. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis be our commitment and our resolve for the months ahead, and, indeed, for the whole of our Christian lives,\u201d he concluded. <\/p>\n
This story was\u00a0first published\u00a0by ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.<\/p>\n