To the lay members, Consecrated Women, Lay Consecrated Men, and Legionaries of Christ:

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus places us once again before the center of our life and mission: the Heart of Christ. (1)

The Statutes, speaking of our spirituality, tell us: “By revealing the love that burns in his Heart, Christ invites us to love him and all he loves: the Father who sent him to redeem us; the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother and ours; the Church — his Mystical Body — and the Pope; all 24 Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation people, his brothers and sisters, for whom he gave his life; and the spiritual family of Regnum Christi as a way to make his Kingdom present in our hearts and in society. (2)

We wish to share with you a reflection born of contemplating that Heart of Christ burning with love, and of listening, in this time, to the voice of Pope Leo XIV. His message for the LIX World Day of Peace offers us a light that illuminates our mission. (3)

The Pope describes the peace of Christ as “an unarmed and disarming peace, humble and persevering,” and states clearly that this peace “comes from God, a God who loves us all unconditionally.” Another affirmation from his message also resounds with particular force: “Peace is more than just a goal; it is a presence and a journey.”

This challenges us directly in the way we live our mission. We are called, first of all, to welcome the peace of Christ, to safeguard it and to live it in our families, consecrated communities, workplaces and places of study, localities, sections, apostolates and schools. The peace we are called to radiate is the one we have received from the risen Lord, who said to his disciples: “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19).

The Holy Father echoes words from Saint Augustine that we receive as a charge: “If you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves; be steadfast in peace yourselves.  To inflame others, you must have the flame burning within.”

Therefore, being builders of peace is a concrete way of working so that Christ may come and reign here and now. (4) This takes on special importance today, when agitation and polarization seem to be gaining ground in so many environments. The witness of peace engages in dialogue and builds bridges; to do so, it first needs to have found an interior space where Christ can dwell.

As part of our mission, we are called to reveal the love of his Heart and to form apostles(5) who, having encountered Christ, are men and women of dialogue, of listening, and of encounter; people capable of building bridges, safeguarding communion, and going out to meet those who need to experience the love of God.

In his message, the Pope proposes three concrete commitments that we invite you to make your own: the disarmament of the heart, the disarmament of the mind, and the disarmament of life. In the light of this call, we can ask ourselves: what does Christ need to disarm in my heart, in my mind, and in my way of living? What first step toward peace is he asking me to take today?

Let us ask together for the grace to know the Heart of Christ more deeply, to let ourselves be touched, transformed, and converted by him, and to live with “the same mind that was in Christ Jesus” (cf. Phil 2:5). May we, as apostles in the world according to his Heart, be messengers of peace and live in a spirit of mission, proclaiming his love with courage.

The General Directive College of Regnum Christi