On this first day of 2021, I shared the following reflection on today’s Gospel during our prayer service for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the World Day of Peace.

In today’s Gospel reading, the Christmas story continues with the arrival of the shepherds who told their amazing story of how they had learned about the birth of Jesus and how to find the Holy Family.

All who heard the story were amazed, but Luke tells us that “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

A mother’s heart.

No doubt your own mother may have told you stories about you. Stories of love, care, concern, wonder, amazement, worry.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

In our amazing Christmas story, Mary, a woman, is the Mother of God.  We hold this as a foundational truth today, in our own hearts. But it was hotly debated in the early church until eventually, she was given the title which had always been etched in her heart.  Mother of God.

Her cousin Elizabeth of course knew this in her heart when she welcomed Mary at the Visitation, calling her “Mother of my Lord.”

Today we also celebrate the 54^th World Day of Peace.  How fitting that Pope Francis chose “A Culture of Care” as the theme for his message this year.

“There can be no peace without a culture of care,” he says.

In other words, we need to nurture peace in our hearts, our words, and our actions.  Mary, Mother of God is also known as Queen of Peace. She mothered peace, the Prince of Peace.

Pope Francis ends his Peace Day Message calling on another title of Mary we know well, Star of the Sea, Stella Maris.  And Mother of Hope.

During these times of the pandemic, and these times of endless war and fractures, when we find ourselves “tossed by the storm” and seeking “a calmer and more serene horizon” we need a compass to guide us to peace.

In his message, Pope Francois points to the compass of the fundamental Catholic principles of Care—Care of the dignity and rights of each person, Care for the Common Good, and Care for Creation—as universal principles that might guide all people of Good Will on the path to peace.

“As Christians,” he writes, “we should always look to Our Lady, Star of the Sea and Mother of Hope.”

“May we work together,” he continues, “to advance towards a new horizon of love and peace, of fraternity and solidarity, of mutual support and acceptance. May we never yield to the temptation to disregard others, especially those in greatest need, and to look the other way; instead may we strive daily, in concrete and practical ways, to form a community composed of brothers and sisters who accept and care for one another.”

And so, we pray …

Hail Mary, full of grace ….

[I created a summary document of the Message of Pope Francis for this 54th Day of Peace.
You can download a copy here: