Pope Leo XIV emphasized Wednesday that love “is not the result of chance, but a conscious choice” and made it clear that it is not a “simple reaction”, but a “decision that requires preparation.”
The Holy Father started from the Plaza de San Pedro a new cycle of catechesis on the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. In this context, he stressed that Jesus does not face his passion “for fatality”, but “for fidelity to a path welcomed and traveled with freedom and care.”
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
For the pontiff, this is a true comfort: “knowing that the gift of his life is born from a deep intention, not from a sudden impulse.”
In this context, he proposed to meditate on the deep meaning of the word “prepare” that, although at first glance it seems simple, custody actually “a precious secret of the Christian life.”
To explain it, the Pontiff – who will return to the town of Castel Gandolfo from August 15 to 17 – analyzed the passage of the Gospel of St. Mark, in which the disciples ask Jesus where he wants them to prepare the Easter dinner the first day of the party of the acid breads.
Jesus’ response seems almost an enigma: “Go to the city; there they will meet a man who carries a water pitcher.”
In this narrative, explained the Pope, the details become symbolic: “A man who wears a pitcher – usually female at that time -, a room on the upper floor already prepared, an unknown lacquer owner.”
From this image, the Pontiff explained that “even before we realize that we need reception, the Lord has already prepared for us a space where we recognize and feel his friends.”
That space, he added, “is, deep down, our heart: a ‘room’ that may seem empty, but that only hopes to be recognized, filled and guarded.”
“Easter, which the disciples must prepare, is actually prepared in the heart of Jesus,” said the Pope.
“The gift of God does not cancel our responsibility”
Thus he pointed out that “grace does not eliminate our freedom, but wakes up.” “The gift of God does not annul our responsibility, but makes it fruitful,” he added.
The Holy Father also indicated that “today, as then, there is a dinner to prepare. It is not only about the liturgy, but of our availability to enter a gesture that surpasses us.”
The Eucharist is celebrated in everyday life
In this regard, he explained that “the Eucharist is not celebrated only at the altar, but also in everyday life, where it is possible to live everything as an offering and thanksgiving.”
“Prepare to celebrate this thanksgiving does not mean doing more, but to leave space. It means removing what it hinders, lowering the claims, stop growing unreal expectations,” said the Pope. And he warned: “too often, in fact, we confuse preparations with illusions. Illusions distract us, preparations guide us. Illusions seek a result, preparations make a encounter possible.”
“True love,” the Gospel reminds us of “occurs even before being corresponded. It is an anticipated gift. It is not based on what it receives, but on what you want to offer. It is what Jesus lived with his own: while they still did not understand, while one was about to betray him and another to deny him, he prepared a communion dinner for all.”
Therefore, the Pontiff urged the faithful to “prepare the Easter of the Lord. Not only the liturgical, but also that of our life.”
And he explained: “Each gesture of availability, each free act, every forgiveness offered in advance, each effort accepted with patience is a way of preparing a place where God can live.”
Stop waiting for the other to change and “take the first step”
In this sense, he invited himself to ask: “What does it mean for me today? Maybe is to give up a claim, stop waiting for the other to change, take the first step. Maybe listen more, work less or learn to trust what is already arranged.”
“That the Lord grants us to be humble trainers of his presence. And, in this daily availability, he also grows in us that serene trust that allows us to face everything with the free heart. Because where love has been prepared, life can really bloom,” he concluded.
80 years of Hiroshima atomic bombardment
At the end of the General Audience, Leo XIV criticized “The illusory security based on mutual destruction” when 80 years of Hiroshima atomic bombardment, which occurred on August 6, 1945. The commemoration of the attack on Nagasaki will take place in three days.
“Today the octogest anniversary of the atomic bombardment of the Japanese city of Hiroshima is fulfilled and within three days we will remember that of Nagasaki. I want to ensure my prayer for all those who have suffered their physical, psychological and social effects,” said the Pope before the pilgrims gathered in the Plaza de San Pedro.
On the morning of August 6, 1945, at 8:15, an atomic bomb launched by the American bomber enola Gay reached the altitude scheduled for its detonation: about 600 meters above the center of Hiroshima. At that moment, a devastating nuclear explosion broke out in heaven, releasing an energy never seen before. The detonation generated a ball of scoring fire that, in just seconds, expanded throughout the city, sweeping buildings, calcining people and unleashing a hell of fire and destruction.
The power of the pump, called “Little Boy”, was estimated at 15 kilotons, the equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT. The immediate impact caused tens of thousands of deaths instantly, and the subsequent effects of radiation would cause the death of many more in the following days and years. That attack marked a before and after in the history of humanity, revealing the destructive power of nuclear weapons and leaving a deep scar in the collective memory of the world.
Despite the time, the Pontiff added, “those tragic events constitute a universal warning against devastation caused by wars and, in particular, by nuclear weapons.”
In this way, the Pope expressed his desire that “in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, illusory security based on the threat of reciprocal destruction gives way to the instruments of justice, to the practice of dialogue and confidence in fraternity.”
In addition, this Tuesday the Holy Father sent a message to the Bishop of Hiroshima, Mons. Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, in which he said that “war is always a defeat for humanity.”
During the greetings to the Italian language pilgrims, the Pope directed a special message to several female congregations: “Greetings in particular to the sisters of the Catholic apostolate, to the missionary servants of the Blessed Sacrament and the tertiary of San Francisco that celebrate their respective general chapters. Dear sisters, desire of heart that can make the evangelical testimony according to the evangelical testimony according to the evangelical testimony.
Finally, addressing young people, the sick people and the newly married husbands, recalled the liturgical festival of the Lord’s transfiguration: “The luminous face of the Lord is for you reason for hope and comfort.”
Victoria Cardiel
Victoria Cardiel is a journalist specialized in social and religious information issues. Since 2013, he has covered all the news of the Vatican for various media, such as the Spanish news agency Europa Press, or the weekly of the Archdiocese of Madrid, Alfa and Omega.