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Pope opens new year with prayer for peace (Subscribe to RSS Feed)

Vatican, Jan. 2, 2009 (CWNews.com) -

The celebration of Christmas "holds a profound Marian connotation," Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) remarked during his homily at a Vespers service on December 31, as the Church observed the feast of Mary, Mother of God. In times of great uncertainty like the present, the Holy Father said, "Mary's maternal presence assures us that God never abandons us if we trust in Him and follow his teachings."

The evening service at which the Pope presided in St. Peter's basilica included the traditional singing of the Ted Deum in thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year as well as Vespers for the Marian feast day. In a new liturgical development, this year's service also included Eucharistic veneration and Benediction. At the conclusion of the ceremony the Pope followed another Vatican tradition, visiting the crèche in St. Peter's Square to pray before the image of the infant Jesus.

On Thursday morning, January 1, the Pontiff presided at Mass for feast day, and-- in the presence of members of the Vatican diplomatic corps, who were invited to attend the Eucharistic liturgy-- formally delivered his message for the 42nd World Day of Peace. The text of the papal message, "Fighting Poverty to Build Peace," had been made public early in December. In his homily the Pope observed that Jesus chose to be born in poverty, but for many people today, poverty is an unwelcome and unchosen fate, which "must be fought to make the world more just." The Pope added that the current crisis in the world's financial markets calls for something more than a short-term solution. He asked: "Are we ready to make a profound change in the dominant model of development together, to correct it concretely and for the long term?"

While he concentrated on poverty and economic hardship as threats to world peace, Pope Benedict did mention one specific military conflict during his homily. He prayed for a quick end to the "intense violence in the Gaza Strip, in response to other violence," noting that the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians alike would prefer to live in peace.