Renew the face of the Earth
We have longed for the year 2020 to be over, to move away from the pandemics that have wounded us collectively and individually. With 2021 on the calendar now, it feels like maybe, just maybe we can start anew at some point. Given the chance, we, along with all of creation, have the capacity to renew, that is, to be “new again”—not only each year but each moment. An essential ingredient to renewal is peace. The church calls us to follow Christ the Way of Peace, as Pope Benedict said on this day in 2007, “with hearts full of hope, notwithstanding the dangers and difficulties that surround us.” Let us pray for and choose peace for ourselves and for the world in all that we renew this year.
Today’s readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21 (18).
“Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”
Prepare the Word