Mary and Peace Homily (2026)
Mary, Mother of God
Numbers 6:22-27
Psalm 67:2-3, 6, 8 (2a)
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:16-21
January 1, 2026
Today is the eighth day of our Christmas season. On the 8th day after their birth, Jewish boys were taken for the circumcision rites to be marked as a child of God. As a good Jewish mother, Mary, along with Joseph, took Jesus for the proper rites.
Thus, today we honor Mary as mother of Jesus with this solemnity.
Normally, I would focus on Mary’s role as mother of Jesus for the holy day but there are other things we celebrate today.
Today is also New Year’s Day on the secular calendar. I don’t normally focus on this in my homily for this holy day either except to offer an invitation for all of us to think about what God wants us to do in 2026 (see my recent article, “A Place for God in 2026”).
Today is also the World Day of Peace in the Catholic Church. Peace…we live in a troubled world.
As we begin the year 2026, we continue to see war between Ukraine and Russia. Peace talks continue…
There is the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Things may be better here but there are still attacks. Then, there are issues in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran… oh how I long for peace.
What is peace?
IPeace may simply be seen as the absence of war. That kind of peace is desirable but it is not the fullness of the peace we are created for.
What is the peace we are created for?
Each year, the pope writes a message for the World Day of Peace. Pope Leo XIV’s message for this year is entitled, “Peace be with you all: Towards an “unarmed and disarming” peace.”
Pope Leo begins with words Jesus offers multiple times, “Peace be with you!” Pope Leo writes, “ “Peace be with you” is his Word that does not merely desire peace, but truly brings about a lasting transformation in those who receive it, and consequently in all of reality” (my emphasis). If we want peace, we must allow God to transform us first so that we may in turn help transform the world.
As Pope Leo writes, the peace that Jesus brings can be “unarming and disarming, humble and persevering.” It is the peace that is meant to be.
It is the peace that Jesus came to bring “when the fullness of time had come.” It is the peace that we receive as God sends, “the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” It is the peace that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).
It is the peace that Mary has in her heart as the Queen of Peace as she reflects on what she heart. It is the peace of which the the “multitude of the heavenly hosts” offer as they say, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14, last line from the gospel for Mass During the Night on Christmas).
We are blessed with this peace when the Lord lets his face shine upon us. It is a peace that transcends worldly peace. The footnote in the New American Bible Revised Edition for Numbers 6:26 (today’s first reading) states, “Peace: the Hebrew word Shalom includes the idea of happiness, good health, prosperity, friendship, and general well-being. To use this term as a greeting was to pray for all these things upon the one greeted.”
Peace transforms our whole being if we let it (see also Deuteronomy 6:5).
I encourage you to read Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace. It is only four pages but it is rich in what God offers us in peace. Pope Leo speaks of peace as the light that Jesus offers us in the darkness. It is the light that “unsettles us” and overcomes the darkness. This peace “wants to dwell within us…it resists and overcomes violence.”
It is with this peace that Pope Leo calls us to stand as “sentinels in the night.”
Pope Leo speaks of those have forgotten the light and have a view of the world that is “disfigured by darkness and fear.” We need to have our Lord’s peace within us so that we may draw others to peace.
Peace is not just a feeling. Pope Leo writes, “Peace is a principle that guides and defines our choices.”
War does not bring this peace. Pope Leo describes the Lord’s peace as “an unarmed peace.” He shows this by pointing us to Jesus’ words given in response to what goes on when He is arrested, “Put your sword back into its sheath” in John 18:11 and Matthew 26:52.
When we look at the violence in the world today, as Pope Leo states, we might feel powerless against the violence. Pope Leo writes, “When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life.” Pope Leo speaks of how this leads to people to focus on being prepared for war and returning violence for violence. This does not bring peace.
It is not easy to embrace the Lord’s peace. It requires us to love our enemies.
Pope Leo speaks of the Lord’s peace as disarming. In this Christmas season, we look at baby Jesus lying in the manger. What does this do to your hearts? Does not seeing baby Jesus in the manger disarm any hatred and/or hurt in your heart?
We need to work for peace. The United States is a powerful nation but that does not mean we should be a bully for peace. War is a last resort (see my page, “Just War Theory”).
In his message for peace this year, Pope Leo points us to the words of Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti of how some think, “the best way to dominate and gain control over people is to spread despair and discouragement, even under the guise of defending certain values” (15). This does not bring peace. It only builds fear.
We are ending our Jubilee Year of Hope but we are not ending our hope. Hope endures for nothing is impossible for God. Embrace the hope that you see in baby Jesus lying in the manger and find peace in your hearts.
P.S. for more on seeking peace, see my reflections on the “Serenity Prayer” and the “Prayer of St. Francis.”