This Week
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Peace Sunday
18/1/2026
A message from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for today
‘Peace be with you’.
This ancient greeting, still in use today in many cultures, was infused with new life on the evening of Easter on the lips of the risen Jesus. “Peace be with you” ( Jn 20:19, 21) is his Word that does not merely desire peace, but truly brings about a lasting transformation in those who receive it, and consequently in all of reality. For this reason, the Apostles’ successors give voice every day throughout the world to the most silent of revolutions: “Peace be with you!” From the very evening of my election as Bishop of Rome, I have wanted to join my own greeting to this universal proclamation. And I would like to reiterate that this is the peace of the risen Christ – a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. It comes from God who loves us all unconditionally.
Shortly before being arrested, in a moment of intimate confidence, Jesus said to those who were with him: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” And he immediately added: “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Their distress and fear were certainly connected to the violence soon to befall him. But, more deeply, the Gospels do not hide the fact that what troubled the disciples was his nonviolent response: a path that they all, Peter first among them, contested; yet the Master asked them to follow this path to the end. The way of Jesus continues to cause unease and fear. He firmly repeats to those who would defend him by force: “Put your sword back into its sheath” (Jn 18:11; cf. Mt 26:52).
The peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed, because his was an unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social circumstances. Christians must together bear prophetic witness to this novelty, mindful of the tragedies in which they have too often been complicit.
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Is 2, 4-5). Leo PP.XIV
For the full text see: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/peace/documents/20251208-messaggio-pace.html
Readings at Mass Today
First Reading
Psalm
Second Reading
Gospel
The above content requires Javascript to be enabled. If it is not presented then use the button below to see today’s readings.
Liturgy of the Hours, Mass readings for the next week and more:
Offertory and Special Collections
