War and violence have never truly stopped in our fallen world and each generation is urged to work for peace. Benedict XVI in 2011 appealed to world leaders, "that every person be motivated by the authentic spirit of peace, to be implored ever anew in prayer and to be lived in daily relations in every environment."
He also ended his homily, given on the feast of Mary, Mother of God, with a powerful prayer that remains relevant and should be renewed, asking Mary to intercede for us to bring lasting peace on earth.
May the Virgin Mary give us her Son, may she show us the Face of her Son, the Prince of Peace. May she help us to remain in the light of this face that shines upon us (cf. Nm 6:25), in order to rediscover all the tenderness of God the Father; may it be she who supports us in invoking the Holy Spirit, so that he will renew the face of the earth and transform hearts, dissolving their hardness in the face of the disarming goodness of the Child who was born for us. May the Mother of God accompany us in this New Year; may she obtain for us and for the whole world the desired gift of peace.
Amen.
