Pope Leo XIV encouraged people on Sunday to embrace the summer season as a time to deepen their relationship with God through silence, reflection, and time spent with others.
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“Summer can be a providential time to experience the beauty and importance of our relationship with God, and how much it can help us to be more open and welcoming to others,” Pope Leo said during a homily at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Pancras in Albano, a town about 16 miles south of Rome.
The pope, who is spending two weeks on summer holiday at the papal estate in nearby Castel Gandolfo, reflected on the example of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke of how service and listening can be “twin dimensions of hospitality.”
“We should set aside moments of silence, moments of prayer, times in which, quieting noise and distractions, we recollect ourselves before God in simplicity of heart,” he said.
Preaching to a congregation of around 300 people—including local priests, seminarians, parishioners, religious sisters, and 60 sick individuals—Pope Leo emphasized the need to “make room for silence” and to step back from the “whirlwind of commitments and worries” that often crowd out opportunities for peace and prayer.
Outside the cathedral, hundreds more gathered in the streets and piazzas. Thirteen mayors from neighboring towns attended the Mass, along with a group of young Catholic scouts who paused to see the pope on their way to summer camp.
As he walked through Albano toward the cathedral, people waved and shouted greetings. The pope stopped to bless children and greet those in wheelchairs who kissed his ring in front of the church.
Pope Leo presided over the Mass, which was concelebrated by 80 priests in the basilica named for Saint Pancras, a young Roman martyr from the 4th century.
In his homily, the pope turned to Saint Augustine’s reflections on Martha and Mary.
“‘These two women symbolize two lives: the present and the future; a life lived in toil and a life of rest; one troubled and the other blessed; one temporary, the other eternal,’” Pope Leo said, quoting from Augustine’s Sermon 104.
Quoting further, he added: “‘The weariness will pass and rest will come, but rest will only come through the effort made. The ship will sail and reach its homeland; but the homeland will not be reached except by means of the ship.’”
The pope said that Martha and Mary are a reminder that “listening and service are two complementary attitudes that enable us to open ourselves and our lives to the blessings of the Lord.”
He urged Christians to seek a wise balance between “contemplation and action, rest and hard work, silence and the bustle of our daily lives,” guided always by the Lord, taking “Jesus’ charity as our measure, his Word as our light, and his grace as our source of strength, which sustains us beyond our own capacity.”
“During the summer, we have more free time in which to gather our thoughts and reflect, and also to travel and spend time with each other. Let us make good use of this, by leaving behind the whirlwind of commitments and worries in order to savor a few moments of peace and reflection, taking time as well to visit other places and share in the joy of seeing others — as I am doing here today,” Leo said.
“Let us make summer an opportunity to care for others, to get to know each other and to offer advice and a listening ear,” he said. “These are expressions of love, and that is something we all need. Let us do so with courage.”
Pope Leo is nearing the end of his current stay at Castel Gandolfo, the 135-acre papal retreat overlooking Lake Albano, long favored by previous pontiffs including John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Pope Francis, however, opted not to use the summer estate during his pontificate.
During his retreat, Leo has continued to lead public prayers, including the Angelus, and has celebrated Sunday Masses in the local community, including last week at the 17th-century Church of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo’s central square.
In his Angelus address on July 20, Pope Leo returned to the theme of summer as a time of rest and encounter.
“The summer season can help us learn how to slow down and become more like Mary than Martha. Sometimes we too fail to choose the better part. We need to take time to rest and try to learn better the art of hospitality,” he said.
“The holiday industry wants to sell us all sorts of ‘experiences,’ but perhaps not the ones we are really looking for. Every genuine encounter is free; it cannot be bought, whether it is an encounter with God, with others or with nature. We need only learn the art of hospitality, which includes both welcoming others and allowing ourselves to be welcomed.”
The pope is expected to return briefly to Castel Gandolfo in August for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, spending time there from August 15–17.
This article was originally published by CNA.
