Reflection on the Message of December 25, 2006

JESUS IS YOUR PEACE

"Dear children! Also today I bring you the newborn Jesus in my arms. He who is the King of Heaven and earth, He is your peace. Little children, no one can give you peace as He who is the King of Peace. Therefore, adore Him in your hearts, choose Him and you will have joy in Him. He will bless you with His blessing of peace. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of December 25, 2006

---

In the Christmas messages that the Virgin Mary has been giving us, she has spoken about peace and called us to it: "Dear children! Also today I bring you little Jesus, who is the King of Peace, in my arms to bless you with His peace. I call you to be my carriers of peace in this peaceless world. I am bringing Jesus, the King of Peace, to grant you His peace. Put the little Newborn Jesus in the first place in your life. In a special way I bless you, little children, with a blessing of little Jesus. Let Him fill you with His peace. "

Christmas is the utmost manifestation of the love of God. "But when the goodness of God our Saviour and His love to man appeared" (Tit 3, 4). It is dew fallen from the sky at Christmas, tenderness raining from above.

Evangelist Luke describes that a great heavenly army joined the angel and praised God: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests" (Lk 2, 14). With their song the angels express the meaning of what happened, saying that the glory of God is materialized through the birth of the Child bringing peace to people. In the biblical sense peace refers to a whole of all things, particularly to forgiveness of sins and the gift of God's Spirit. The biblical expression for peace is close to the expression "grace". The peace granted by God stands for much more than a mere absence or elimination of wars and conflicts among men. It stands for a re-established, peaceful relationship of a son towards God, that is, in one word, salvation. Justified by faith – an Apostle says – we are in peace with God. In this sense, peace is identified with the very person of Christ. "For He Himself is our only peace" (Eph 2, 14).

The Virgin Mary continues coming and bringing us Jesus just as she did when she came and appeared on Apparition Hill for the first time, with the Baby Jesus in her arms. Our Lady's words and presence are neither loud nor unusual or noneveryday. Her presence with us here and among us is hidden in the commonness of the human word and simplicity. God is revealing Himself in the commonness and simplicity of a child. Jesus remains with us dressed and hidden in the simplicity of the Eucharist bread. And it is precisely this simplicity where the omnipotence of God's love and closeness resides. This greatness and omnipotence is capable of creating new life and transforming the hearts of men. The words of Our Lady are nothing new or unfamiliar. They are a reminder of the wisdom and truth of God's word.

The Virgin Mary is full of grace and full of God. She has emptied herself completely in order for God to reside in her fully. She is all turned to God. Therefore, she speaks to us: "Adore Him in your hearts, choose Him, no on can grant you peace as He can, and you will have joy in Him." Let this happen in our lives every day, not only at this Christmas.

Fr. Ljubo Kurtovic
Medugorje, 26/12/2006