VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The world is not saved by threatening violence or by judging, oppressing or getting rid of others, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Rather, it is saved by tirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear," the pope said during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and World Peace Day Jan. 1.

Therefore, at the beginning of a new year with "new and unique days that await us, let us ask the Lord to help us experience at every moment, around us and upon us, the warmth of his fatherly embrace and the light of his benevolent gaze," he said in his homily. 

On that first Christmas night, the shepherds were the fortunate ones of whom Isaiah spoke.  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.”  The shepherds were keeping the night watch over their flocks. They were shivering in the cold blackness when suddenly the glory of the Lord shone around them.