Carolina Bellocq
While on summer vacation, Pope Leo XIV continues the tradition of the Sunday Angelus prayer, accompanied by the faithful at the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo.
Despite the sweltering heat, hundreds of people flocked to the town square to pray with the pope. He reflected on Sunday's Gospel, the parables of the wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast.
POPE LEO XIV
Brothers and sisters, through these parables, Jesus reveals something important about the manner in which God works in our lives and history. We sometimes expect God to do something spectacular; we want him to intervene from on high, immediately uprooting the weeds of evil.
The pope highighted how we often look for a strong and powerful God, which unfortunately, shapes our idea of the Church and what it means to be Christian.
POPE LEO XIV
However, the Kingdom of God spreads even amidst the weeds, requiring us to train our vision so we can discern the good that sprouts despite the darkness of evil, and avoiding rash judgments. It comes like the smallest of seeds and thus calls for patience in accompanying these processes, so that we can recognize it in the little things of daily life and in the simplicity of ordinary existence.
Christ, he said, always accompanies us with love. This is the example Christians are called to follow.
The pope then appealed specifically for those suffering from war and violence.
POPE LEO XIV
Let us not forget those who are suffering and dying because of these conflicts, and let us add out constant prayers to the generous efforts for peace.
Before taking a short ride through the town, Pope Leo greeted local residents and pilgrims, members of the Focolare Movement and Regnum Christi, as well as pilgrims from Australia.
