Pope Leo XIV during his Wednesday catechesis on the jubilee theme “Jesus Christ Our Hope” said the gift of the Eucharist prepared by God reveals that his great love “always precedes us.”
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Speaking to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 6, the Holy Father said St. Mark’s Gospel shows us that Jesus’ love for his disciples “is not the result of chance but of a conscious choice.”
“It is not a simple reaction but a decision that requires preparation,” he said. “Jesus does not face his passion out of fatalism but out of fidelity to a path freely and carefully accepted and followed.”
Just as God made preparations to show his love for people, the pope said, in turn, people are free to choose God and prepare their own hearts to receive his love.
“He has already thought of everything, arranged everything, decided everything,” Leo said. “However, he asks his friends to do their part.”
“This teaches us something essential for our spiritual life: Grace does not eliminate our freedom but rather awakens it,” he explained. “God’s gift does not eliminate our responsibility but makes it fruitful.”
Noting the significance of the Eucharist for Jesus’ followers, the Holy Father said its celebration should not be “only at the altar” but also lived in “daily life” as a continual offering of love and thanksgiving.
“True love, the Gospel reminds us, is given before it is reciprocated,” he said. “It is an anticipatory gift. It is not based on what is received but on what one wishes to offer.”
In order to make space in the heart to receive God’s love, particularly in the Eucharist, the pope asked his listeners to consider: “What does it mean for me today to ‘prepare’?”
“Perhaps to renounce a demand, to stop waiting for others to change, to take the first step,” he suggested. “Perhaps to listen more, to act less, or to learn how to trust in what has already been prepared.”
Prayers for Japan on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing
Following his catechesis, Pope Leo asked those gathered to pray for the people of Japan who “suffered … physical, psychological, and social effects” of the atomic bomb dropped during World War II.
“Despite the passing of the years, those tragic events constitute a universal warning against the devastation caused by wars and, in particular, by nuclear weapons,” he lamented.
“I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction may give way to the tools of justice, to the practice of dialogue, and to trust in fraternity,” he said.
This article was originally published by CNA.
