Union of Catholic Apostolate
APOSTLES FOR TODAY
JANUARY 2026
Gabriella Acerbi
«Peace be with you all: towards an 'unarmed and
disarming' peace»
Message for the World Day of Peace on 1 January 2026
Peace of heart
"Peace be with you all: towards an 'unarmed and disarming' peace" is the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the World Day of Peace. The message invites the entire human family to reject the logic of violence, war and armed deterrence, in order to rediscover an authentic peace, rooted in love, justice and solidarity.
The peace proposed by the Pope is "disarmed", because it is not based on the threat or accumulation of weapons, and at the same time "disarming", as it is capable of resolving conflicts, generating trust and reconciling hearts. The message recalls personal and collective responsibility: it is not enough to desire peace, it is necessary to incarnate it in daily life, through a nonviolent lifestyle, attentive to the visible and structural wounds that run through our societies. (cf Vatican News, 18 December 2025) With this announcement from Vatican News, we too open our new year of Apostles for today.
With the General Secretariat and the General Coordination Council, we have thought of Peace as a general theme to be pursued during this year, a theme declined in many aspects that highlight how today it is more necessary than ever to consider peace not as something that concerns others, or unattainable, but as a reality that can and must dwell in everyone, because we are all involved in living
it and making it happen.
But what can we do to build and concretise our desire for peace....
Currently, there are 56 active conflicts of varying extent and intensity in the world, involving, more or less directly, over 92 countries, while over 100 million people have been forced to migrate to escape the violence.
In this disastrous situation, a key word that can help us contribute to building peace is prayer. However, we have been praying for peace for a long time, in various ways, on various occasions; the Pope constantly reminds us of this, but peace is slow to come, it does not come.
Faith makes us believe that in any case the Lord will carry out his plan for peace and we also believe that prayer can change people, it can change ourselves.
Pope Leo in his speech in the presence of religious leaders at the Colosseum - in Rome on October 28, 2025 - assures us: "we have faith that prayer changes the history of peoples." Faith, therefore, sees this desire for peace fulfilled.
I recently came across a very symbolic image that I propose to you:
This image makes us understand how peace is hanging by a thread, but the Family of Nazareth is also hanging by that thread, accepting to live the same experience as us, sharing our expectation and accompanying our situation. Their presence and their involvement tells us that we must not be afraid, lose hope because with them, with us there is Jesus, the only reference point in our lives.
In this time, in the today of our lives, however, we can do more of our part to achieve peace, praying together.
Let's add, then, a second keyword: together.
This is an inclusive way of praying that does not set limits and distinctions, and is already convenient in itself, because "Reason and experience demonstrate that the good done individualistically is usually lacking and of limited duration. "Even the best efforts of individuals cannot be successful unless they are united and directed to a common goal." as St. Vincent Pallotti said. (Cf OOCC IV 122-123).
But the most specific theme of this first Apostles for Today of 2026 concerns: peace of heart.
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid." (John 14:27)
These are the words of Jesus that show us how the need for peace, the peace that appeases the wounded heart and animates it, is not what we/the world think it should be, no! it is another peace, it is the peace of Jesus.
It is the peace that is based on communion despite differences, on encounter, on dialogue, on the openness of each one to the other; to that other in front of whom we are willing to lose a little of ourselves, to get our hands dirty, to lose our "serenity" and our quiet life.
Let us allow peace to grow within us as harmony, through gestures, words, attitudes. And if the peace of Christ lives in our hearts, everything changes!
But the most specific theme of this first Apostles for Today of 2026 concerns: peace of heart.
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid." (John 14:27)
These are the words of Jesus that show us how the need for peace, the peace that appeases the wounded heart and animates it, is not what we/the world think it should be, no! it is another peace, it is the peace of Jesus.
It is the peace that is based on communion despite differences, on encounter, on dialogue, on the openness of each one to the other; to that other in front of whom we are willing to lose a little of ourselves, to get our hands dirty, to lose our "serenity" and our quiet life.
Let us allow peace to grow within us as harmony, through gestures, words, attitudes. And if the peace of Christ lives in our hearts, everything changes!
The message for the World Day of Peace reminds us that reconciling hearts is our responsibility, personal and collective at the same time, and this is achieved by embodying in daily life a lifestyle that puts itself at the service of others. Here, then, is another key word: serve.
Serving is an act that goes beyond simply fulfilling one's duties. It is a profound expression of love and humility. When we serve, we put the good of others above our own personal interests, and it is in this gesture that we reveal the true meaning of human greatness.
Serving does not diminish anyone, on the contrary, it elevates the soul and purifies the heart. Those who serve with joy transform the environment around them, spreading goodness and the barriers built fall.
Love. And his heart, filled with this presence, was at peace: My God, God all, all, all, all God! (cf. OOCC X 277; 482)
In St. Vincent we have the model of service: "to become all things to all men" at every moment of the day, because in everyone he met, in every event or circumstance he saw the presence of God, infinite.
Pope Francis also exhorts us to make peace real in us and among us: "Peace can be built if we begin to be at peace with ourselves – at peace within, in our hearts – and with those who are close to us, removing the obstacles that prevent us from taking care of those who are in need and destitution. (…) Peace is in life: it is not only the absence of war but it is a life rich in meaning, set up and lived in personal fulfillment and fraternal sharing with others."1 (Cf Meeting with 137 Schools of Peace. Avvenire-Rome 7, 19 April 2024).
In daily life, it will be our patience, our ability to forgive and understand, to share, to listen, to give without expectations, to create opportunities for reconciliation to the point of loving even our enemy, that will make the difference.
Getting to know each other in order to discover the positive that is in each one; listen to and understand each other; to look at each other with love, covering with mercy any mistakes; to accept one another in order to build a common basis of respect, esteem and mutual trust.
What a program of life - another key word - which questions the whole Pallottine Family, in the first place, internally and, then, in its relations with the outside world!
To be all this, I believe that once again we must not disregard what St. Vincent dreamed of: to renew the Church, the whole world, with the strength of apostolic love and to become a sign of unity, hope, peace and salvation for all men and women. Who can stop us from doing it? Who can stand in our way if we want to live like this? No one, only ourselves.
Prayer, togetherness, service, life program: these are the key words that we have shared so that, if we start to live them, peace of heart can be realized.
May this year 2026 bring with it the gift of peace: for each one and for the world; inner peace and peace of words, intentions and relationships. True peace to be recognized and restored.Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti, 204 00186 Roma, ITALIA Tel: (+39) 393.5560794 E-mail: uacgensec@gmail.com
Suggestions for community reflection:
1. How can we be protagonists of a change towards peace in our daily lives?2. What does the experience in San Vincenzo Pallotti tell us?
3. Do we have hope for peace?
4. Proposal: A daily commitment to peace.
Every day at 12:00 noon, let us join the Universal Church in theAngelus prayer, wherever we are: at home, at work, where we can, and let us also recite a specific prayer for peace of heart.
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