Pope at Angelus: God’s grace is freely given and must be shared
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV prayed the Marian prayer of the Angelus on Sunday with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Reflecting on the day’s Gospel (Mt 9:36-10:8), the Pope recalled the gaze of Jesus, who saw the “harassed and helpless crowds” and had compassion on them.
“The Son of God looks at the people; He looks at humanity: He sees the oppression that burdens and the violence that causes strength to fade,” said the Pope. “He sees the wounds of war and the emptiness of consumerism. He sees faces reduced to masks, families torn apart by evil, and young people misled by false ideals.”
Jesus sees and loves us, said the Pope, noting that His compassion is both fraternal closeness and an expression of His desire to redeem us.
As He saw so many people who were like “sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus sent His disciples into the world with the task of offering God’s comfort to everyone who suffers.
Our task as Christians, said Pope Leo, is to bring “charity where there is misery, hope where there is affliction, and faith where there is distrust.”
The Pope noted that the Gospel names the first twelve workers, from Peter to Judas Iscariot, as a reminder that even Jesus’ followers can betray Him.
Yet, the Gospel remains a living and true word that spans the centuries, always staying the same but ever young, fresh, and liberating.
“When the Gospel is proclaimed and lived out,” he said, “evil crumbles like a disease that passes away, like a night giving way to dawn, like death conquered by the risen One.”
Jesus’ gaze thus transforms reality by filling us with His love and leading us to continue the mission of the apostles to share His free gift.
“Jesus’ gift is entirely free, for its value exceeds all measure: it is impossible to merit or ‘buy’ it,” said the Pope. “This grace is the beautiful name of God’s mercy, which seeks us out wherever we are, to draw us to Himself.”
In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Christians to evangelize the world by sharing God’s forgiveness with the world in service to the poor and commitment to justice.
“Let us invoke the help of the Virgin Mary, full of grace,” he said, “so that we may respond with joy and courage to the mission to which Jesus calls us.”
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