Here were the reactions of seminarians, priests, and bishops upon seeing Pope Leo… A long and loud standing ovation.
And chants in unison of “Papa Leone”…
They were in St. Peter’s Basilica for their Jubilee. They had come from all over the world—Angola, Panama, Spain, and Brazil.
Addressing the seminarians, Pope Leo XIV thanked them for embracing the priestly vocation in difficult times. The pope set aside his prepared meditation to give them a message in Spanish.
POPE LEO XIV
And I’ll also say a word in Spanish… Thank you for having, thank you for courageously accepting the Lord’s invitation to follow, to be a disciple, to enter the seminary. You must be brave and do not be afraid.
The key message of the Pope’s meditation was the importance of self-knowledge - examining oneself deeply in order to develop a profound spiritual life.
POPE LEO XIV
Entering the heart can sometimes be scary, because it also holds wounds. Don’t be afraid to care for it, let yourselves be helped because precisely from those wounds will come the ability to be close to those who suffer. Without interior life, even spiritual life is not possible, because God speaks to us right there. God speaks to us in the heart.
Pope Leo also spoke about the importance of discernment—especially in times of doubt—in order to understand what one truly desires.
POPE LEO XIV
If you care for your heart, with daily moments of silence, meditation, and prayer, you can learn the art of discernment. This is also an important task: learning to discern. When we’re young, we carry many desires, dreams, and ambitions. Often, the heart is crowded, and we feel confused.
This meditation once again drew applause from everyone in the basilica.
There was a throng of faithful in St. Peter’s, and it ended with Pope Leo approaching the seminarians. He blessed them, signed autographs, and received a few gifts.
CA
Trans. CRT
