On 1 January, the Solemnity of Mary Mother God was also the 47th World Day of Peace. Pope Francis’ first message on this important occasion was themed “Fraternity, the foundation and pathway to peace”.

The fraternity theme is clearly very catchy in the first message on day of peace since it is the hub of Franciscan spirituality. For Saint Francis of Assisi, “the new Francis which was regenerated by Christ through the repentance, God’s Fatherhood made him a loving brother to everyone and everything”. The same theology is found in Pope Francis’ peace message. In fact the Argentinean Pontiff said: “The basis of fraternity is found in God’s fatherhood. We are not speaking of a generic fatherhood, indistinct and historically ineffectual, but rather of the specific and extraordinarily concrete personal love of God for each man and woman (cf. Mt 6:25-30).” It is a fatherhood, then, which effectively generates fraternity, because the love of God, once welcomed, becomes the most formidable means of transforming our lives and relationships with others, opening us to solidarity and to genuine sharing” (§1).

In his long text for the occasion, Pope Francis puts the family as the school where life-giving fraternal dynamics are appropriately passed on in the hope of being embraced accordingly.

“Fraternity is an essential human quality, for we are relational beings. A lively awareness of our relatedness helps us to look upon and to treat each person as a true sister or brother; without fraternity it is impossible to build a just society and a solid and lasting peace. We should remember that fraternity is generally first learned in the family, thanks above all to the responsible and complementary roles of each of its members, particularly the father and the mother. The family is the wellspring of all fraternity, and as such it is the foundation and the first pathway to peace, since, by its vocation, it is meant to spread its love to the world around it” (§ 1).

However, it should be lived on many human aspects. Take for instance the economy. Can the frenzied seeking of self-satisfaction, happiness and security in purely materialistic consumptions and exaggerating earnings be strong ways of having a solid economy? In this year’s peace message, Pope Francis called for the dire need of “rediscover[ing] the virtues of prudence, temperance, justice and strength” (§6) and be successfully applied to the economical field. Regarding these important virtues, the Holy Father commented that “these virtues can help us to overcome difficult moments and to recover the fraternal bonds which join us one to another, with deep confidence that human beings need and are capable of something greater than maximizing their individual interest. Above all, these virtues are necessary for building and preserving a society in accord with human dignity” (§6).

Fraternity can curb entire wars! The Pope did not mince his words in condemning outright wars by defining them as “a concrete refusal to pursue the great economic and social goals that the international community has set itself” (§7). In view of their disastrous effects, the Holy Father personally appealed to those responsible to seek the path of reconciliation. “I appeal forcefully to all those who sow violence and death by force of arms: in the person you today see simply as an enemy to be beaten, discover rather your brother or sister, and hold back your hand! Give up the way of arms and go out to meet the other in dialogue, pardon and reconciliation, in order to rebuild justice, trust, and hope around you!” (§7).

Corruption and organised crime gravely weaken the fraternal ideal. The Pope gives a list of deadly threats to the fraternal spirit such as drug abuse, the devastation of natural resources and ongoing pollution, the exploitation of labour, the illicit money trafficking and financial speculation, prostitution, human trafficking, crimes and abuses against minors, and slavery. Spiritual conversion can enable those responsible “to change their lives” (§ 8).

Finally, fraternity has a personal taste. In our daily disagreements do we keep remembering that we are brothers and sisters? Do we “teach others and teach ourselves not to consider our neighbour as an enemy or as an adversary to be eliminated?” (§ 8).

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap

San Gwann