Rome (Italy). The 52nd World Day of Peace is celebrated on January 1st, 2019. The purpose of the Day is to dedicate New Year’s day to reflection and prayer for Peace.
“Good politics is at the service of peace”. This is the theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 52ndWorld Day of Peace. A “challenge” to promote a “good policy” that recalls the virtues of this particular “eminent form of charity”.
Not alone, but with Mary who generated Jesus, Prince of Peace and with her we pursue it with evangelical initiative. Mary, Mother of Life, Woman of dialogue, of tenderness, of mercy and, therefore, a Woman of peace.
Peace is similar to the hope of which the poet Charles Péguy speaks. It is like a fragile flower that tries to bloom in the midst of stones of violence, we read in the Message. The search for power at any cost leads to abuse and injustice. Politics is a fundamental means of building citizenship, but if those who exercise it do not live it as a service to the human community, it can become an instrument of oppression, marginalization, and even destruction …
When human beings are respected in their rights, the sense of duty to respect the rights of others sprouts in them. The rights and duties of human beings increase the awareness of belonging to the same community, with others and with God
We are called to bring and proclaim Peace as the good news of a future where every living being is considered in its dignity and in its rights. “Good politics” is at the service of peace. It is the duty of every citizen and in particular of those who have received the mandate to govern. This mission consists in safeguarding the rights of all and encouraging trustful dialog between cultures, generations, and citizens. The starting point is mutual trust, loyalty, sincerity.
Peace is the consequence of a great political project, but it is also a challenge to be welcomed day by day. It implies three dimensions: peace with oneself, peace with others, peace with creation. The Pontiff recalls that: “Today more than ever, our societies need ‘artisans of peace’.
The Mother General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, M. Yvonne Reungoat, in Circular 969 writes, “We all want peace; many people build it every day with small gestures and many suffer and endure patiently the effort of numerous attempts to build it. My thoughts go to Valdocco and Mornese where the commitment to educating to the value of peace was a fundamental element in the educational mission, understood as a work of mercy in which to offer young people the certainty that God loves them. The Preventive System is entirely based on the belief that in every young person there is at least one point accessible to the good, a chord to make vibrate, so that the heart opens itself to goodness. Don Bosco was convinced that we should start with the young to regenerate society. And he wanted that every morning we would pray for ‘peace in our home’, convinced that in education, we need to encourage the appropriate environment to form ‘good Christians and honest citizens’. Mother Mazzarello understood that the most effective way was to take care of the relationships between the sisters and the young in a ‘family atmosphere’ animated by the presence of Mary Help of Christians. She recognized that this climate was the basis for peaceful and serene relationships, a prerequisite to facilitate participation and co-responsibility even among girls.
Dear Sisters, we have in Mary and our Founders credible witnesses of peace, of the love given and made perceptible by the young. As an Educational Institute, we reaffirm our choice for education. This is where the foundations are laid for a culture of life, for the conviviality of differences, respect for the rights and duties of every person, of every citizen. Here we learn to overcome conflicts and cultivate feelings of solidarity and peace. Together, as Educating Communities, we want to commit ourselves with even greater conviction to form the indissoluble values ??of life, of the family, of civic awareness, of respect for human rights, of democracy”.
May the Message of Peace, in harmony with the post-chapter journey on which we need to reflect, study personally, and in the various local and provincial animation organizations, touch the hearts of all the Educating Communities to build a lasting future of peace and solidarity!
