Vatican Radio, 1 January 2014
The Pope
said his wishes for the new year are “those of the Church:” Christian wishes
that put Jesus Christ at the center of history and at its end: “the Kingdom of
God, Kingdom of peace, justice, liberty in love.” And the Holy Spirit, the Holy
Father said, is the force which propels us towards that end.
Recalling
that on January first, the Church celebrates the feast of Mary, the Holy Mother
of God as well as World Day of Peace, Pope Francis referred to his Message of
Peace for the Day: ‘Fraternity: the Foundation and Pathway to Peace’ saying it
stems from the conviction that we are “all children of one God and are part of
the same human family,” sharing a common destiny.
We all have
a responsibility, the Pope stressed, to build a world which “becomes a
community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other’s differences,
and take care of each other.”
We are also
called to acknowledge “the violence and injustices present in many places
around the world” and we cannot allow ourselves to be “indifferent and
immobile,” the Pope said. Everyone must work to build a society of solidarity and
“truly more just.”
Here, Pope
Francis departed from his prepared remarks to say he was moved by a letter he
recently received from a man touched by personal tragedy and who asked him why
so many terrible things are happening in today’s world: ‘What has happened to
the hearts of men?’ the man wrote. The Pope repeated the question, asking the
faithful: “what has happened in the hearts of men, in the heart of humanity? It
is time to stop!! It is time to stop!”
Today,
believers around the world pray to the Lord for the gift of peace and the
ability to spread it everywhere the Pope said. May the Lord lead us down the
path of justice and peace “more decisively,” the Pope prayed, invoking the Holy
Spirit to “loosen” the fastenings and hardening of hearts so that they will
open up to “the tenderness and weakness of the Child Jesus.” “Peace,” he said,
“requires the force of meekness, the force of nonviolence of truth and of
love.”
To “Mary,
Mother of the Redeemer,” Pope Francis entrusted the “cries for peace of
populations oppressed by war and violence so that the courage of dialogue and
reconciliation prevails over temptations of revenge, of arrogance (it:
prepotenza), of corruption.” Pope Francis prayed that “the Gospel of fraternity
announced and witnessed by the Church will speak to every conscience and break
down the walls that prevent enemies from recognizing each other as brothers.”
Post
Angelus
Following
the Angelus, Pope Francis thanked Italian President Giorgio Napoletano for his
good wishes expressed in a televised address on New Year’s Eve, and invoked a
blessing on the Italian people so that with the “responsible” and fraternal
“contribution of everyone, they may look to the future with trust and hope.”
The Pope
concluded his remarks by welcoming the many initiatives taken up around the
globe for the World Day of Peace.
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