Pope Benedict XVI - Homily during the celebration of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and 42nd World Day of Peace

(January 1, 2009) On this New Year’s Day and the day of the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Pope Benedict XVI, celebrated the Mass at St Peter’s Basilica, together with Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and the Faithful. In his homily the Holy Father having greeted all for the New Year, reminded them of the World Day of Peace. The first reading itself said the Pope, reminds us of Jewish Tradition of God’s Blessing and gives believers of good will the opportunity to build the civilization of hope, love and peace. Considering that we are created in the image of God, perfected in Jesus Christ who is the beginning of a new world, and he has really opened a new humanity, capable, always and only by the grace of Christ.
The Holy Father then mentioned of the World day of Peace celebrated on New Year’s Day, with the theme Combating Poverty, Building Peace. This theme lends to two kinds of considerations. On the one hand poverty itself is the choice proposed by Jesus and on the other hand, an invitation to fight poverty to make the world more just and united. The first ideal is visualised at Christmas with Jesus born poor indicating the divine choice of poverty. We have Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, Manger, all indicating that God Chose poverty, so that he would live and die in poverty, said the Pope.
But the second issue touches us deeply, he said. It is a poverty that prevents individuals and families to live according to their dignity, a poverty that offends justice and equality and, as such, it threatens peaceful coexistence, said the Holy Father. In this sense it includes negative forms of poverty beyond material poverty also found in rich and developed society: exclusion, negativism, racism and all that is not spiritual and moral. The world is faced with widespread plagues such as pandemic diseases, child poverty and exploitation, the food crisis, the unacceptable armaments race. The Pope then added that on the one hand we celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the other we are increasing military expenditure which cannot be accepted.
Pope Benedict then called on to fight poverty that is unfair, that oppresses so many men and women and threatens the peace of all, and must rediscover the sobriety and Solidarity indicated in the Gospel message. In this context, the vow of poverty is the commitment of some, but reminds everyone of the need of detachment from material goods and wealth of the primacy of the spirit. The Babe of Bethlehem teaches us to fight poverty both material and spiritual.
The Pope then speaking on Mary said that her questions would have been: why Jesus wanted to be born from a simple and humble girl like me? And why he wanted to be in a stable and receive the shepherds of Bethlehem? She understood it at the cross having placed the body in the tomb of Jesus, dead and wrapped in swaddling clothes thus living the full mystery of God's poverty.
Through Mary, Mother of the Son of God, Jesus became our brother, and we are confident in our prayer to help us follow in his footsteps, to fight and eradicate poverty and build true peace. Pope Benedict then said that to Mary we entrust the deep desire to live in peace that rises from the heart of the vast majority of Israeli and Palestinian populations, once again put at risk by massive violence erupted in the Gaza Strip in response to more violence. The violence, hatred and mistrust are forms of poverty, perhaps the most terrible one where we need to fight. In that sense the pastors of those churches, in these sad days have heard the voice of Jesus and Mary. The Pope then invited all to join them and their dear faithful, especially those of small but fervent parish of Gaza, and to place at the feet of Mary our concerns for the present and fears for the future.