Dear brothers and sisters,

This evening, we gather in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, just as the early Church in Jerusalem did (cf. Acts 1:14).  Let us all together, persevere tirelessly in praying for peace, a God-given gift that we must strive to receive and to which we must make a strong commitment.

Authentic Marian spirituality

During this Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, we believers turn our gaze to the Virgin Mary, who guides us on our pilgrimage of hope. We look to her human and evangelical virtues, the imitation of which constitutes the most authentic Marian devotion (cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 65.67).  Like her, the first of all believers, we aspire to be a welcoming vessel for the Most High, a “humble tent of the Word, moved only by the motions of the Holy Spirit” (Saint John Paul II, Angelus, 15 August 1988).  Like her, the first of the disciples, we ask for the gift of a listening heart that opens itself as part of a welcoming cosmos. Through her, Woman of sorrow, strength, and faith, we ask for the gift of compassion toward every brother and sister who suffers and toward all creatures.

Let us look to the Mother of Jesus and the small group of courageous women at the foot of the cross.  May we learn from them to stand beside the countless crosses of the world, where Christ is still crucified in his brothers and sisters, in order to bring them comfort, communion and help. We can identify with Mary as a member of the human family, and borrowing the words of a poet, we say to her:

“Mother, you are every woman who loves;
Mother, you are every mother who weeps
for a child killed, a child betrayed.
These children who are never fully killed” (D. M. Turoldo).

We seek refuge under your protection, Virgin of Easter, together with all those in whom the Passion of your Son continues.

Do whatever he tells you

During this Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, our hope is guided by the gentle and persistent light of Mary’s words as recounted in the Gospel.  Her last words at the wedding feast in Cana are particularly precious.  Referring to Jesus, she said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). This was the last time she spoke.  These words, which almost seem to be a testament, must be treasured by her children, as any mother’s testament would be.

Whatever he tells you. She is certain that the Son will speak; that his word is not yet final; that he continues to create, generate and work; that he fills the world with springtime and the amphorae of the feast with wine.  Like a beacon, Mary points beyond herself, showing that the final destination is the Lord Jesus and his word: the center toward which everything converges; the axis around which time and eternity revolve.

Follow his word, she urges. Live the Gospel: embody it, living it out with determination and joy.  Live the Gospel and life will be transformed from being empty and dull to something full and vibrant.

Do whatever he tells you: the Gospel in its entirety, with all its demands and consolations, reproaches and embraces.  Do what you understand and even what you do not.  Mary urges us to follow the example of the prophets, not letting even one of the Lord’s words fall to the ground (cf. 1 Sam 3:19).

The words of Jesus that we should never let “fall to the ground,” and which resonate in a particular way during this vigil of prayer for peace, are those which he addressed to Peter in the Garden of Olives: “Lay down your sword” (cf. Jn 18:11). Disarm your hands and, even more importantly, your hearts.  As I have said before, peace is unarmed and disarming.  It is not deterrence, but fraternity; it is not an ultimatum, but dialogue.  Peace will not come as the result of victories over the enemy, but as the fruit of sowing justice and courageous forgiveness.

Lay down your sword is a message addressed to the powerful of this world, to those who guide the fate of peoples: have the courage to disarm!  At the same time, it is an invitation to each one of us to recognize that no idea, faith or policy justifies killing.  We must first disarm our hearts because unless we have peace within ourselves, we cannot give it to others.

Let it not be so among you

Let us listen once more to the words of Jesus: the leaders of this world build empires with power and money (cf. Mt 20:25; Mk 10:42), “but not so with you” (Lk 22:26).  This is not how God acts: the Master has no throne, but girds himself with a towel and kneels at the feet of each one of us.  His empire is the small space required to wash the feet of his friends and care for them.

It is also an invitation to adopt a different perspective, to look at the world from a lower position: through the eyes of those who suffer rather than the mighty; to view history through the eyes of the little ones, rather than through the perspective of the powerful; to interpret the events of history from the viewpoint of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the wounded child, the exile and the fugitive; to see things through the eyes of the shipwrecked and of the poor man Lazarus lying at the rich man’s doorstep.  Otherwise, nothing will ever change, and a new era, a kingdom of justice and peace, will never dawn.

This is precisely what Mary does in the Canticle of the Magnificat when she considers the points at which humanity is broken and the world becomes distorted: the contrast between the humble and the powerful, the poor and the rich, the satiated and the hungry.  She chooses the little ones; she stands with the least powerful in history, to teach us to imagine and to dream together with her of a new heavens and a new earth.

Blessed are you

Do whatever he tells you.  “Blessed are you, the peacemakers” (Mt 5:9).  We are dedicated to embodying the Lord’s profound words, making them a part of our very being, our legacy and our actions.

Blessed are you: God gives joy to those who spread love in the world and to those who choose to make peace with their enemies rather than defeat them.

Take courage, continue on your journey, you who are building the conditions for a future of peace, justice and forgiveness.  Be gentle yet determined and never give up.  Peace is a journey, and God walks with you.  The Lord creates and spreads peace through his friends who are at peace in their hearts, and they in turn become peacemakers and instruments of his peace.

Like the first disciples gathered in the Upper Room, we have come together tonight in prayer around Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother.  We turn to her, a woman of profound peace who is the Queen of Peace:

Pray with us, faithful Woman and Sacred Vessel of the Word.
Teach us to listen to the cry of the poor and of mother earth;
to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit in the secret of our hearts,
in the lives of our brothers and sisters and in the events of history,
in the groaning and rejoicing of creation.
Holy Mary, Mother of all the Living,
strong, sorrowful, faithful Woman,
Virgin Bride at the foot of the Cross,
where love is consummated and life flows forth,
be the guide of our commitment to service.

Teach us to stand with you at the countless crosses
where your Son is still crucified,
where life is most threatened.
Teach us to live and bear witness to Christian love,
by welcoming everyone as brothers and sisters;
to renounce the darkness of selfishness
in order to follow Christ, the true light of humanity.

Virgin of peace, Gate of Sure Hope,
accept the prayers of your children!