“Peace in Every Land” March on 1 January 2019

Let this be my greeting at the beginning of the New Year: “Peace be to this house!”  (Pope Francis’ Message on 1 January 2019, the World Day of Peace)

On 1 January 2019, Pope Francis welcomed all the participants of the march for Peace in Every Land organized by the Sant’Egidio Community.  “My warmest greetings go especially to all of you, dear Romans and pilgrims here today in Piazza San Pietro, so many!  It looks like a canonization!  And here I wish to express both my appreciation and closeness to the countless initiatives of prayer and commitment for peace held today in every part of the world, promoted by the ecclesial communities.”

Click to view the VIDEO and for more info on Sant’Egidio

“Bringing peace is central to the mission of Christ’s disciples. That peace is offered to all those men and women who long for peace amid the tragedies and violence that mark human history. The “house” of which Jesus speaks is every family, community, country and continent, in all their diversity and history. It is first and foremost each individual person, without distinction or discrimination. But it is also our “common home”: the world in which God has placed us and which we are called to care for and cultivate.”

Click for the entire message of Pope Francis on the 52nd World Day of Peace – 1 January 2019

As we step into the Jubilee Year from December 2024 to 2025,

let us invite God the Holy Spirit to enable us to be real pilgrims of Hope

in our communities and among the people we serve. 

 

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

 

May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity

and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

 

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen (more…)