One day before the start of his first apostolic journey, Pope Leo XIV presided over the General Audience held in a packed St. Peter’s Square.
From the atrium, Pope Leo reflected in his catechesis on a scourge that currently torments our society: the lack of trust, which results in a lack of hope. In response, the pontiff offers a solution: entrusting our sufferings, our work, and our very lives to the Lord… while also highlighting the example and value of the family.
SUMMARY OF THE WEEKLY PUBLIC CATECHESIS:
Dear brothers and sisters: Today we reflect on a very current challenge, almost an illness: the lack of trust in life, which appears to many as an unknown or even a threat. This difficulty is rooted in a lack of hope, in not understanding life as a gift we are called to share. In the face of this, God presents Himself to us as "the lover of life," as the guarantor of that gift. If we trust in Him, our existence gains meaning, and sufferings, work, and conflicts are faced from a different perspective.
Creation is the first manifestation of that ineffable gift, which reaches its culmination in human beings, who are called to generate life, to give life, in love and through love. If, through sin, man breaks with this mandate, Christ—begotten by the Father—is Life. In His incarnation, He offered it to us, not only by bringing consolation and care to every person, but by giving His life on the cross so that we might have it in abundance. His example invites us to do the same.
I cordially greet the Spanish-speaking pilgrims. Let us ask the Lord for the strength to respond to the life that has been freely given to us with an existence devoted to His service. Let us abandon ourselves to His love so as not to fear difficulties and to face challenges, giving ourselves generously to others. Let us receive life, and God who is manifested in it: in the children we bring into the world, in the people for whom we take responsibility, and in the society we are called to build. May God bless you. Thank you very much
