reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
Pope: Like Lazarus, may we hear the Lord's call to new life
At the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the Gospel account of the resurrection of Lazarus, and how it invites us to the fullness of life and to be renewed by God's grace to walk in the light of love, reflecting His boundless charity.
Vatican News
Greeting the visitors and pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square for the midday Angelus on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Pope Leo spoke about Lord's raising of Lazarus, "a sign that speaks of Christ’s victory over death and of the gift of eternal life, which we receive through Baptism."
In his reflections, the Pope said Jesus tells us today, just as he did to Lazarus' sister Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”.
Preparing for Holy Week
Today's Gospel reading comes just before Holy Week when we relive the events of the Lord’s Passion — his entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the trial, the crucifixion, the burial - the Pope recalled. In this way we can prepare ourselves and better appreciate their significance, meaning and be open to the gift of grace they offer.
“These events are fulfilled in the risen Christ, who has conquered death and lives within us through Baptism, for our salvation and the fullness of life.”
Grace illuminating the world
God's grace illumines the world, the Pople reminded us, while we often get lost looking for things that can never give us lasting happiness, such as the constant search for novelty that consumes time, energy, values and sensitivity we have for others, "as if fame, material goods, entertainment and fleeting relationships could fill our hearts or make us immortal."
We all carry "longing for the infinite" within us, he concluded, "a need that cannot be satisfied by passing things." And as Saint Augustine wrote, "we are made for God, and we find no peace until we rest in him."
Pushing aside the boulders
In conclusion, the Pope encouraged us to see how the account of the resurrection of Lazarus invites us then, with the help and power of the Holy Spirit, to "free our hearts from habits, conditioning and ways of thinking which, like boulders, shut us away in the tomb of selfishness, materialism, violence and superficiality."
“Jesus also cries out to us: “Come out!”, urging us to emerge from these cramped spaces, renewed by his grace, to walk in the light of love, as new women and men, capable of hoping and loving, without calculation and without measure, according to the model of his infinite charity.”
Before leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Pope said may we seek the help of the Virgin Mary "to live these holy days with her faith, her trust and her fidelity, so that the glorious experience of encountering her risen Son may be renewed in us each day."
It seems strange that during the most sacred time of year we cover everything that is beautiful in our churches, even the crucifix. Shouldn’t we be looking at the painful scene at Calvary while we listen to the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday?
While it may appear counterintuitive to veil statues and images during the final weeks of Lent, the Church recommends this practice to heighten our senses and build within us a longing for Easter Sunday. It is a tradition that should not only be carried out in our local parish, but can also be a fruitful activity for the “domestic church” to practice.
The rubrics can guide us. In the Roman Missal we find the instruction, “In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from [the fifth] Sunday [of Lent] may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.”
This is the current practice of the Church, but veiling from the Fifth Sunday of Lent onward is miniscule compared to what was once practiced. For example, in Germany there was a tradition to veil the altar from view throughout all of Lent.
Families are also encouraged to imitate this practice and veil prominent religious images in their homes. It helps us to participate in the liturgical season, especially if we are prevented from going to Mass during the week. Otherwise we only see the veiled images in church once or twice before Easter and it has a minor effect on us. It is also a beautiful tradition to pass down to our children, who will be intrigued by it and it will make this time of year truly special for them. We go through great lengths to decorate our homes for Easter, so why not prepare for the great feast by using veils?
The unveiling before the Easter Vigil is a great reminder of our own life on earth. We live in a “veiled” world, in exile from our true home.
But why go through such lengths to cover up images that are designed to raise our hearts and minds toward heaven?
First of all, we use veils to alert us of the special time that we are in. When we walk into church and notice everything is covered, we immediately know that something is different. These last two weeks of Lent are meant to be a time of immediate preparation for the Sacred Triduum and these veils are a forceful reminder to get ready.
Secondly, the veils focus our attention on the words being said at Mass. When we listen to the Passion narrative, our senses are allowed to focus on the striking words from the Gospel and truly enter into the scene.
Third, the Church uses veils to produce a heightened sense of anticipation for Easter Sunday. This is further actualized when you attend daily Mass and see the veils each day. You don’t want them to be there because they are hiding some very beautiful images.
And therein lies the whole point: the veils are not meant to be there forever. The images need to be unveiled; it is unnatural for them to be covered.
The unveiling before the Easter Vigil is a great reminder of our own life on earth. We live in a “veiled” world, in exile from our true home. It is only through our own death that the veil is lifted and we are finally able to see the beauty of everything in our lives.
Fr. Pasolini delivers third Lenten meditation in the Vatican
The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, delivers his third Lenten meditation to the Roman Curia, with Pope Leo in attendance, on "The mission: proclaiming the Gospel to every creature."
By Benedetta Capelli and Deborah Castellano Lubov
"The Gospel is not proclaimed to win, but to encounter."
The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, made this point during his third Lenten Meditation delivered Friday morning in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on the theme, “The mission: Proclaiming the Gospel to every creature.”
Addressing the Roman Curia with Pope Leo XIV in attendance, the Papal Preacher spoke about preparing the ground for an encounter with Jesus, and how this ties into our relationships with others.
St. Francis of Assisi as a model
“Our authority,” Fr. Pasolini said, “does not come from a role, but from a life that accepts entering into this dynamic of love,” where we are humble, sensitive to others and their needs, and ready to dialogue with them and welcome their gifts.
Throughout the meditation, Fr. Pasolini turned to St. Francis of Assisi as an example and model. "This is what Francis intuited when he called his friars ‘lesser,’ giving them not a title, but a concrete way of being in the world," he said, observing, "It is precisely this smallness, this lived humility, that makes the proclamation of the Gospel fruitful.”
The Gospel takes shape in life
Mission, the fulfillment of conversion and fraternity, is born “from the desire to share with others the experience and proclamation of the Gospel,” but everything comes from the Word.
“One cannot truly speak,” Father Pasolini says, “about what has not yet taken root in one’s own life.”
He stressed that patience is needed to guard what we have seen and heard, to let it mature in prayer, and also warned against the temptation to “use the things of God to seek approval or recognition.”
"What is precious must be protected, allowed to mature, and transformed into witness," he said.
God's presence transforms
The Papal Preacher emphasized that Christ is not information to be transmitted, but a mystery dwelling within humanity that asks to be recognized so that it may emerge in life. He also explained how the Gospel is not communicated as a simple piece of news, but is given as a life that gradually takes form.
Father Pasolini made a comparison to explain how God’s presence in the human heart transforms life and relationships, namely that of the experience of a mother, who first carries the child within her, gives the child time to grow, and only afterward brings it to birth.
"So it is with faith," he suggested. "First Christ takes space within us, in silence, in prayer, in daily choices. Only afterward can He appear outwardly, in gestures and in the way we relate to others.”
Abstract words convince no one
Fr. Pasolini emphasized the need to recognize God’s presence in others and to show respect. To reach others, he suggested, and have dialogue, words must be heartfelt.
"When words remain abstract and impersonal, they convince no one, not even those who speak them," Fr. Pasolini explained, noting this is pertinent to transmitting the Gospel.
The mystery of God
The Papal Preacher reminded that encountering the other means not only giving, but also receiving, and is a free choice of respect and dialogue.
“God did not impose Himself on humanity,” Fr. Pasolini concluded, “but made space for it. He did not jealously guard His greatness; He gave it, so that the other might receive it and live.
Third Lenten meditation delivered in the Vatican (@Vatican Media)
Fr. Pasolini: In a world of wars, fraternity is not an ideal but a responsibility
The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, delivers his second Lenten meditation to the Roman Curia, with Pope Leo in attendance, and reflects on the grace and responsibility of communion, drawing on Saint Francis’s insight that relationships with others are an opportunity to learn the logic of the Gospel.
By Edoardo Giribaldi
The Preacher of the Papal Household, Father Roberto Pasolini, delivered the second of the four Lenten meditations in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, in the presence of Pope Leo XIV.
The meditations are scheduled every Friday until March 27 and centered on the theme “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”—the Capuchin friar reflected on “Fraternity – The Grace and Responsibility of Fraternal Communion.”
Fraternity, Fr. Pasolini said, is not an accessory of spiritual life, nor merely a favorable context in which one can grow more easily in grace. !It is the place where conversion truly takes place, the most serious testing ground, and, at the same time, the most eloquent sign of what the Gospel can accomplish in our lives"
The example of the first Franciscan Communities
In his reflection, Fr. Pasolini recalled the life of the early Franciscan communities, which Saint Francis of Assisi wanted to exist without relationships of power or superiority, similar to the first Christian communities. The Papal Preacher suggested these were not spaces “to take refuge in order to live quietly,” but contexts that lead people back “into the depths of their own hearts,” with all their shadows and anxieties.
"Brothers are a gift from the Lord," he said. "But precisely for this reason, they do not simply have the function of helping or supporting us along the journey: they are entrusted to us so that our lives may change."
“The one who comes from the same womb”
Reflecting on the etymological meaning of the word brother—adelphós, literally “the one who comes from the same womb”—the Preacher of the Papal Household observes that brothers do not merely confirm “what we are,” but call us to transformation.
In their diversity, their limitations, and sometimes even in their struggles, Fr. Pasolini suggested, they become the concrete space in which God works on our humanity, loosening our rigidities and teaching us to live with a truer heart, one more capable of love.
Abel and Cain: a “problem of perspective”
One of the stories that best describes these resistances is the “painful relationship” between Abel and Cain. The Capuchin friar went on to suggest that the fracture arises from “a problem of perspective.”
In the Genesis account, the first brother offers the firstborn of his flock, an offering that God “looks upon with favor,” while the second simply presents some fruits of the soil.
The difference, he said, lies not so much in the quality of the offering as in whether what is offered truly represents one’s life.
"For this reason, God does not accept Cain’s gift, not to condemn him, but to provoke him," the Papal Preacher observed.
"Accepting that gesture," he added, "would mean leaving him in the belief that he truly has nothing good to offer. Instead, God seems to want to help him believe that his life too can become a gift."
“Who is Cain within us?”
From this episode, Fr. Pasolini invites listeners to question themselves, asking “who is Cain within us,” calling on us to ask ourselves how much space resentment occupies in each person’s heart.
The bitterness that arises, he recognized, often is fed by our realizing that “we are not alone” and “we are not everything.”
"When we fail to make peace with this reality," he said, "the presence of the other can become unbearable."
The logic of mercy toward those who fail
For Saint Francis, however, Fr. Pasolini reasoned, fraternity was not a problem to be solved but an opportunity to learn the merciful logic of the Gospel toward a neighbor who makes mistakes. A similar dynamic, the Papal Preacher added, can also be found in the brief yet intense Letter to Philemon written by Saint Paul.
"When relationships crack and communion is wounded," Fr. Pasolini noted, "the Gospel does not first suggest defending one’s own rights. Instead, it urges seeking the greatest and always possible good: the good that allows us to recognize in the other no longer an adversary or a debtor, but a brother loved by the Lord."
Welcoming amid wounds, disappointments, and hostility
The Papal Preacher acknowledged that this reality may seem distant from everyday life, but it becomes tangible when relationships are based on “a bond of freedom,” not on sympathy or affinity, but on the fact that God has chosen us and called us to live together in the Church as brothers and sisters.
"Easter has begun to work within us the moment we discover that we can welcome others even when they wound us, disappoint us, or behave like adversaries," Fr. Pasolini marvelled. "Not because we have become stronger or more virtuous, but because something within us has already died and something new has begun to live."
Not losing sight of the horizon
The insight of Saint Francis, Fr. Pasolini continued, is to see conversion arising precisely from what others do to us, even when they hurt us or put us to the test.
This, he observed, greatly broadens our perspective.
Since the struggles of fraternity in daily life can be heavy, the priest admitted, "Precisely for this reason we must never lose sight of the horizon."
"When we lose the perspective of eternal life," he warned, "certain difficulties become completely unacceptable."
Receiving fraternity as gift and responsibility
Faith, Fr. Pasolini highlighted, does not separate but reminds us that “no one can be excluded from our hearts.” Through the Resurrection of Jesus we are freed, not from the effort required by relationships, but from the suspicion that such effort is useless.
"For this reason, during these days of Lent, while the history of the world continues to be marked by divisions, wars, and conflicts," Fr. Pasolini insisted, "we Christians cannot limit ourselves to speaking of fraternity as an ideal to be achieved." "We are called to receive it as a gift, and, at the same time," he urged, "to take it on as a very serious and urgent responsibility."
Papal Preacher: Humble power of love produces peace even amid conflict
Fr. Roberto Pasolini, Preacher of the Papal Household, speaks to Vatican News about the themes at the center of the Lenten sermons, which he will deliver every Friday from March 6 to 27.
By Salvatore Cernuzio
For the Franciscan papal preacher, it was almost a natural choice that St. Francis of Assisi would be the focus of his Lenten sermons, as this year marks the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.
Beginning on March 6 and continuing every Friday until March 27—before the start of Holy Week—Fr. Roberto Pasolini will therefore present St. Francis in his reflections to the Pope and the Roman Curia “as a concrete path of conversion and evangelical life.”
The guiding theme of these reflections is "'Whoever is in Christ is a new creation' (2 Cor 5:17), conversion to the Gospel according to Saint Francis.” They will also focus on the topics of freedom, hope, mission, and fraternity.
In the following interview with Vatican News, the Preacher of the Papal Household says he will keep current events close in mind, just as the Gospel is closely connected to concrete life and its tensions. Only an “abstract vision” of a theoretical or idealistic Christianity could separate the Gospel from the world, Fr. Pasolini notes.
Q: Fr. Pasolini, what theme will you address in the Lenten meditations? And why this choice?
The theme of preaching, in the end, is always the same: the Lord Jesus Christ, the announcement of his Easter, and the grace of a new life in him through the gift of the Spirit. Then, depending on the circumstances, this single theme takes different forms.
This year, remembering the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi and during the Jubilee Year proclaimed by the Holy Father for this occasion, for a Franciscan apostolic preacher, the choice was almost natural: to present St. Francis as a concrete path of conversion and evangelical life.
Q: The Jubilee of Hope ended not even three months ago. Right now, hope is being severely tested by wars, tensions, and fears. How can we live the Lenten season in the midst of all this?
Christian hope bears the mark of the cross: it is both luminous and fragile. God has chosen to govern the world with love, respecting our freedom.
He has taken seriously the mystery of evil and violence but has decided to confront it only with the power of good. That is why paths toward peace are slow: they depend on hearts and minds willing to accept the logic of the cross and to live it with humble courage within conflicts.
Yet the seed of a new civilization—one of fraternity—has already been planted. The Kingdom of God “in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing.”
The problem is that the noise of wars often drowns out the quiet growth of good. We struggle to believe that the humble power of love will ultimately produce lasting fruits of justice and peace.
Q: Will current events somehow appear in your meditations?
Not directly. I do not think that is my role in this context. However, only an abstract vision of faith could imagine a separation between the Gospel and concrete life.
Often, we think that on one side there are Christian values and on the other side reality, with its tensions. This is a sign of a Christianity reduced to theory or to an unreachable ideal.
But when the Gospel truly touches us, it immediately changes the way we live. And by changing us, it also changes the world: we become more capable of loving, of creating justice, and of widening fraternity, simply by allowing the Spirit who conforms us to Christ to act within us.
Q: In addition to military violence, we see today also a lot of verbal violence. The Pope invited the faithful to fast from words that wound. What words would you suggest using during this time?
I do not think that disarming language can be reduced to a list of words to say or avoid. Such a list would constantly need updating. What generates violence is not only words but also tone and intention.
We are violent when we speak without listening. When we presume to know the other without understanding their reasons. When we speak only to assert ourselves. When we do not carefully choose words suited to the situation.
We also risk hurting others when, speaking from positions of authority or privilege, we do not consider the influence our words may have.
Verbal disarmament is born from a simple question: are we willing to face the effort of dialogue and to build respectful and equal relationships?
Q: Conversion to the Gospel according to St. Francis will be the guiding theme of your reflections. What message does he offer us today? Why is he still relevant?
St. Francis is relevant because he reminds us clearly and radically that God is alive and can dwell in our lives if we make space for Him. At a time when Christianity risks being reduced to moral effort or ethical consistency, his experience brings us back to what is essential: the Gospel as a living word, to be listened to and lived with freedom.
St. Francis speaks to the hearts of all because he touched the deepest expectations of the human person: recognizing one another as brothers and sisters, looking at creation with gratitude, and building a more just and peaceful coexistence.
His relevance does not depend on celebrations, but on his ability to show that a life reconciled with God immediately becomes more human, simpler, and more fraternal.
First Lenten Sermon: Peace comes from the courage to be small
Fr. Roberto Pasolini, the Preacher of the Papal Household, gives his first Lenten meditation, with Pope Leo XIV in attendance, reflecting on the importance of humility as part of our ongoing conversion.
By Benedetta Capelli
On March 6, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, the Preacher of the Papal Household, gave the first of his Lenten Sermons, which will take place every Friday until March 27 in the Paul VI Audience Hall, with Pope Leo XIV present.
The series is centered around the theme: “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Conversion to the Gospel according to Saint Francis.”
This first meditation’s topic was "Conversion: Following the Lord Jesus on the Path of Humility." The Capuchin friar recounted how "in the days that are once again marked by pain and violence, to speak of smallness might seem to be an abstract discourse, almost a spiritual luxury. In reality, it is a practical responsibility, linked to the destiny of the world."
Peace, he explained, is not only born from political agreements or diplomatic or military strategies, but from men and women who find the courage to be small. This happens when people step back, renounce violence in all its forms, refuse to give in to the temptation of revenge and dominance, and choose dialogue even when circumstances seem to deny its possibility.
Awakening of the image of God
Fr. Pasolini called it “a demanding and daily task,” one that concerns everyone who sees themselves as children of God and knows that “this conversion of the heart” is their responsibility.
Introducing his reflection—related to the life of St. Francis—Fr. Pasolini described him as a "man traversed by the fire of the Gospel, capable of rekindling in each of us the longing for a new life in the Spirit."
But what exactly does "conversion" mean? This is a question we must ask because "if we get the starting point wrong, we risk building on fragile foundations," he said.
"Evangelical conversion," the preacher said, "is first and foremost God’s initiative, in which man is called to participate in full freedom." It happens "in the most intimate point of our nature, where the image of God impressed upon us waits to be reawakened."
The response to grace
St. Francis speaks of "doing penance" when he enters the path of conversion. He refers to a “change of sensitivity,” a way of seeing others with mercy and through the light of the Gospel, sweeping away "the bitterness of a life filled with many things but still empty of its essential value."
Doing penance marks the beginning of a fight to defend the "new taste of things," while faithfully nourishing the seed that God has placed in each person's heart.
Conversion is no longer the attempt to straighten life out with one's own strength, but a response to a grace that has redefined the parameters of our way of perceiving, judging, and desiring.
Recognizing sin
Conversion is connected to "the depth of the furrow that sin has etched in us," the Capuchin friar explained, but sin is a word that today seems to have disappeared.
"In the collective consciousness – and sometimes even in the life of the Church – everything is explained as fragility, wound, limitation, conditioning. When sin is still mentioned, it is often reduced to a small mistake or weakness." "If every sin becomes just a symptom," he pointed out, we risk losing something essential: "the greatness of human freedom and its responsibility."
If there is no longer the possibility of true evil, we cannot believe in the possibility of true good. If sin disappears, holiness too becomes an abstract and incomprehensible destiny.
In sin, man recognizes that "his freedom is real, and that with it he can build or destroy himself, others, the world." A "deep healing" is therefore necessary to recover a relationship with God—repeatedly choosing to live in love and freedom, even enduring hardships that are not "sterile" but are expressions of "fidelity of those who have already glimpsed the meaning and value of what they are living".
Returning to humility
St. Francis is seen as the saint of poverty. But it is also impossible to separate him from humility. Both spring from the mystery of the Incarnation. They are the very traits of God that man is invited to live in order to resemble Him.
"Humility," Fr. Pasolini highlighted, "is a path that every baptized person is called to follow if they want to fully embrace the grace of life in Christ." It is "a way of inhabiting the world and relationships" to reduce the "the inflated image we have of ourselves" and to return to truth. He called it "a gift of the Spirit even before it is an ascetic exercise."
However, humility does not impoverish man. Rather, it returns him to himself. It does not lessen him but restores him to his true greatness. For this reason, it is so closely linked to conversion. Original sin arises precisely from a rejection of humility: from not wanting to accept ourselves as human beings, finite and dependent on God. Conversion, then, must also be understood as a return to humility.
The face of the new man
The greatness of man, the preacher explained, comes through his smallness. The saint of Assisi—by embracing the smallest—understood that this is "the privileged place" chosen by the Lord. "In them that the 'power' spoken of in the Gospel is manifested, that of becoming children of God."
A child who is not ashamed to ask the Father for things experiences "a particular strength: the ability to inspire goodness in others." "The little ones, with their fragility, awaken mercy," Fr. Pasolini continued, "which is perhaps the most precious energy in the world." It is a radical openness that requires the hospitality of the other; "becoming small is an essential dimension of being Christians."
When we choose to become—not remain—small because we have recognized God's smallness and have felt welcomed and loved by Him, then this choice is not a form of regression or renunciation. It is the face of the new man that Baptism restores to us.
Constant conversion
The final step is to recognize that conversion never ends. We remain sinners, always asking to be sanctified by the Spirit. "To convert means to continually begin again this movement of the heart, through which our poverty opens itself to God’s grace," even in our reluctance to diminish our self-image, by doing ongoing inner work that places us "at service, freely and concretely."
Fr. Pasolini recalled St. Paul, who understood that ": weakness is not a phase to be overcome, but the very form of his life in Christ," "the form of baptismal life."
However, we often think that evangelical smallness is only possible when everything is going well. In reality, the opposite is true. It is precisely in conflicts and difficulties that this littleness is even more necessary. When the instinct is to defend oneself or impose oneself, that is where we see if we have truly learned the Gospel of the cross. Light, in fact, shows its strength not when everything is clear, but when darkness reigns.
The meditation ended with a prayer from St. Francis and an invocation to "follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ."
It seems strange that during the most sacred time of year we cover everything that is beautiful in our churches, even the crucifix. Shouldn’t we be looking at the painful scene at Calvary while we listen to the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday?
