# Messengers of peace: Advent Wednesday, week 4
*2016-12-20*

> Bill Young reflects on the call to be messengers of peace through the teachings of St. Mother Teresa and the spiritual canticle of Mary, the Magnificat.

## Praying for Peace in Germany

Today is Wednesday of the fourth week of Advent. We begin with some heavy news from Germany, where a driver drove their car into a crowd of people, leaving over eleven dead and many wounded. We pray for the souls of the deceased, for the injured, and for the families affected during this holiday season. We also pray for those who commit such crimes, for they are not looking toward the Messenger of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Appropriately, today is the feast day of St. Peter Canisius, a saint from the early 16th century and the patron saint of Germany. We ask for his intercession for his fellow Germans and all those suffering from this tragedy.

## Becoming Messengers of Peace

Our topic today is 'Messengers of Peace,' featuring a reading from 1 John 4:20: 'Those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen.'

St. Mother Teresa reminds us that we were created to live in peace. Jesus, the first Messenger of Peace, became human to bring good news to the poor. He died on the cross to show us the greatest love—a love for you, for me, and for the leper, the hungry, and the naked person lying in the street, whether in Calcutta, Africa, New York, London, or Oslo. 

Mother Teresa insists that to be true, love has to hurt. It hurt Jesus to love us. He identifies Himself with the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the sick, the prisoner, and the unwanted, telling us, 'You did it to me.' The hunger of the poor is a hunger for our love, and that need may be found right in our own homes.

## The Magnificat

As part of our preparation for Christmas, we reflect on the Magnificat, the spiritual canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55. In this prayer, Mary proclaims the greatness of the Lord, rejoicing that He has looked upon the humiliation of His servant. She praises the Almighty for lifting up the lowly, filling the starving with good things, and remembering His faithful love and mercy to Abraham and his descendants.

*We must ask ourselves: what might I do today to become a greater messenger of peace?*