January 1, 2024 / 07:02 PM
“May the Lord give you peace,” a Franciscan message of greeting, echoed several times in the celebrations of the end of the year and the beginning of the new year in the Holy Land.
The words echoed the wishes of Christians, who inaugurated the new civil year on January 1 (while Jews and Muslims celebrate the new year on different dates).
This greeting “says a great truth, that peace comes from Him, from the Lord Jesus,” emphasized Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Mass celebrated on January 1, Solemnity of the Most Holy Mary, Mother of God, and 57th World Day of Peace.