The Church starts off the year with a World Day of Peace that coincides with the feast of Mary, Mother of God.
This encourages us to pray for peace, invoking the special care and intercession of the Virgin Mary.
Pope Benedict XVI composed the following prayer that entrusts world peace to Mary, Queen of Peace. It is a great way to start the year, letting her guide us in our desire for an end to all violence and division.
To the Queen of Peace, the Mother of Jesus Christ “our peace” (Eph 2:14), I entrust my urgent prayer for all humanity at the beginning of the year … to which we look with hearts full of hope, notwithstanding the dangers and difficulties that surround us. May Mary show us, in her Son, the Way of peace, and enlighten our vision, so that we can recognize Christ’s face in the face of every human person, the heart of peace!
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Prayer for peace and harmony to spread over the earth