Each year, on January 1st, the Church observes the World Day of Peace. To commemorate this important Day, our Popes offer a Message to the world that speaks directly to the needs of the time.
In his Message for the 59th World Day of Peace, Pope Leo XIV follows suit. He titles his Message, Peace be with you all: Towards an “unarmed and disarming” peace.
Rooting his Message in the words the risen Jesus spoke to his followers: “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20:19 & 21) Pope Leo offers encouragement and challenge for each of us individually and collectively.
Pope Leo starts by clarifying the overused or sentimentalized understanding of the word “peace.” He states, when the risen Christ greets his disciples with “Peace be with you!” he is not merely offering a desire for peace, a feeling, or a passive state. Rather, his words “are infused with new life on the evening of Easter… and brings about a lasting transformation in those who receive it, and consequently in all of reality.”
The peace of Christ changes everything. It “has conquered death and broken down the walls of division that separate humanity (cf. Eph 2:14). His presence, his gift and his victory continue to shine…even more visible and radiant in the darkness of our times.”
Pope Leo articulates the tension between the light of our God inherent in peace and the darkness that “unsettles us and afflicts us amid the trials we face in our historical circumstances.” He states bluntly, “in order to overcome the darkness, it is necessary to see the light and believe in it.”
Describing peace as a dynamic experience, Pope Leo states: “Peace exists; it wants to dwell within us. It has the gentle power to enlighten and expand our understanding; it resists and overcomes violence.”
But he reminds us: We have a choice. We must take the time needed to hear, see, and feel peace. We must believe in it. We must remember it as we face the challenges of each day. To confront fear and darkness, we must allow peace to enter our hearts and change us. Recalling Saint Augustine, he writes: “If you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves; be steadfast in peace yourselves. To inflame others, you must have the flame burning within.”
All of this can be daunting. Yet we remember: we seek spiritual progress, not perfection. Pope Leo comforts us: “Dear brothers and sisters, whether we have the gift of faith or feel we lack it, let us open ourselves to peace! Let us welcome it and recognize it, rather than believing it to be impossible and beyond our reach. Peace is more than just a goal; it is a presence and a journey. Even when it is endangered within us and around us, like a small flame threatened by a storm, we must protect it… Peace is a principle that guides and defines our choices.”
Indeed, the peace that Christ offers is counter cultural. Pope Leo reminds us of the radical words of Jesus to his disciples, “’Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives…Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid’ (Jn 14:27) … The Gospels do not hide the fact that what troubled the disciples was his nonviolent response: a path that they all…contested; yet the Master asked them to follow this path to the end. The way of Jesus continues to cause unease and fear. He firmly repeats to those who would defend him by force: “Put your sword back into its sheath” (Jn 18:11; cf. Mt 26:52). The peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed.”
We are invited to examine our lives and our society: What is normal behavior? What are expected actions and reactions? Pope Leo states, “When we treat peace as a distant ideal, we cease to be scandalized when it is denied, or even when war is waged in its name… When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life.”
Peace is a radical action growing out of love, forgiveness, and humility. It upholds the dignity of all, values the least among us, seeks the common good. Recalling St. Augustine, Pope Leo states “those who truly love peace also love the enemies of peace.”
Do we believe in peace enough to live it?
We are invited into a lifelong journey of transformation—to embrace our own human fragility, bringing our prayers, thoughts, minds, and actions in line with the peace Jesus lived and taught. Amen—Come Holy Spirit.
Janice Andersen | Director of Christian Life