“Break out into shouts of joy” (Is 52:9), cries the messenger of peace to those who find themselves among the ruins of a city to be completely rebuilt. Pope Leo XIV reiterated this paradox in his Christmas homily. We too are part of this turning point, which no one seems to believe in yet: peace exists and is already with us.

Peace? Or rather a seed of peace to grow?

Sr Françoise Emmanuel, from the Etterbeek community, reflects on her community’s experience: “Our community was very touched by the film The Voice of Hind Rajab, which emotionally recounts the powerlessness of the Red Crescent team to save a child trapped in a car in Gaza. Powerless but close, supporting her by telephone and, at the center of the documentary, praying with the child. These rescue workers made me think of all those who struggle in other ways to rehumanize unspeakable situations. They signify God’s presence, there with all the victims, in all the camps. In the midst of the alarming news, may we receive Marie Eugenie’s contemplative gaze to recognize, in these peacemakers, the witnesses of the Kingdom that is growing.”

Leo XIV reiterated this paradox in his Christmas homily […] Peace exists and is already with us.

Sr Françoise adds: “With the young people in our schools, parishes and families, and in a much more modest way, we try to support those on the front line against poverty. Cakes, shared festive meals, invitations to isolated or excluded people are concrete signs of our desire for peace.”

When the fragility of others penetrates our hearts, when the pain of others shatters our granite certainties, then peace already begins. God’s peace is born of a welcome wail, of a heard cry; it is born among the ruins that call for a new solidarity. It is born of dreams and visions that, like prophecies, reverse the course of history. Yes, all this exists, because Jesus is the Logos, the meaning from which everything took shape: “Through him all things came into being” (Jn 1:3). This mystery challenges us; it opens our eyes to a world where the Word still resonates, calling us to conversion.

Yes, our hearts are called to open up and try to resemble that of Jesus, to show it through concrete gestures towards the most fragile, and to involve young people in this experience of closeness with the poorest, who teach us about God.

Thank you to Pope Leo XIV for reminding us of this! Read his entire homily here.