Queen of Peace

We begin the New Year under the mantel of Mary. the Mother of God, her greatest title, her greatest role in the plan of salvation. The Church has also designated this day as the World Day of Peace. Prayers and Masses will be offered throughout the world for this goal which year after year seems to elude us.  Mary referred to herself many times in her apparitions at Medjugorje as "the Queen of Peace", a title also found in the Litany of Loretto. Groggy as we may be after our New Year's Eve vigil and midnight greeting of the New Year, we are called to be instruments of peace.  Indeed, as Marists with our mission to make Jesus known and loved to all, but especially to the "least favored", the most neglected, the most in need, we can be the ambassadors of peace by living as Mary did, in generous acceptance of God's plan for us, and by giving Jesus the central place in our lives. In following her footsteps, we are the Mary of the Visitation, carrying Jesus to thers in our daily contacts with them; we are Mary at Cana, noticing the needs of others and alerting Jesus to them; we are Mary of Sorrows, bearing the grief of those who mourn; we are Mary of Pentecost, receiving the Holy Spirit and as disciples, boldly inviting others to come to a new level of life in that Spirit. Our Marist calling, vocation, cannot be lived fully without on-going conversion, a conversion which will bring peace to our souls and have the ripple effect of bringing peace to others. May this be our primary New Year's resolution.   Mary, Queen of Peace, make me a channel of your peace.
Bro. Rene