During the Mass he presided this Sunday in the framework of the jubilee of the catechists, Pope Leo XIV accent on the family as a privileged place for the transmission of faith and said that the catechism has the ability to protect against “individualism” and “discords.”
“Catechism is the travel instrument that protects us from individualism and discords, because it confirms the faith of the entire Catholic Church,” he said during the homily.
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Before the nearly 20,000 catechists from 115 countries that have participated in this event of the Holy Year 2025, the Pontiff reflected on the mission that people dedicated to transmitting faith and accompany others on the Christian way.
“Catechists teach, that is, they leave an inner sign; when we educate in faith we do not train, but we put the word of life in the heart, so that it produces fruits in a good life,” he emphasized.
In his homily, Leo XIV stressed that the word catechist comes from the Greek will cocheinwhich means “instruct in a living voice, to resonate” and recalled the importance of receiving the gift of faith in the family.
Thus he explained that the announcement of the word cannot delegate to others, “but is done where we live, mainly in our homes, around the table.”
“We have all been educated to believe through the testimony of who believed before us. Since children and adolescents, being young, then adults and also elderly, catechists accompany us in faith,” he said after pointing out that this is a process that involves the entire ecclesial community.
He added: “Every faithful collaborates in his pastoral work listening to the questions, sharing the evidence, serving the desire for justice and really resides in human consciousness.”
“Whole peoples, whipped by war and exploitation”
Commenting on the gospel of the rich and lazarus (Lk 16,19-31), the Pope explained that this story wants to “arouse our conscience.”
“The Lord looks at the hearts of men and, through his eyes, we recognize a homeless person and an indifferent. Lázaro is forgotten by who is in front of him, just after the door of his house; however, God is close to him and remembers his name,” he said.
Similarly, he said that the evangelical passage is “very current” because at the doors of opulence today “the misery of whole peoples, whipped by war and exploitation.”
“Nothing seems that it has changed over the centuries, how many lazaries die in front of the greed that forget justice, to the benefit that tramples charity, blind wealth against the pain of those needy,” he insisted.
This is the same passage of the Bible that was proclaimed during the jubilee of the catechists in the Holy Year of Mercy that began on December 8, 2015 and concluded on November 20, 2016. Therefore, Leo XIV cited in his homily the words directed by Pope Francis on that occasion by highlighting that “God redeemed the world of all evil, giving his life for our salvation.”
On the other hand, as usual in his homilies, he summoned St. Augustine and urged: “If the rich of the gospel would have had charity towards Lázaro, he would have done good not only the poor, but also to himself.”
In any case, he assured that the Gospel announces that everyone’s life can change, because Christ has risen among the dead.
“This event is the truth that saves us; so it must be known and announced, but it is not enough. It must be loved, and it is this love that leads us to understand the Gospel, because it transforms us by opening our hearts to the Word of God and the face of the neighbor,” he explained.
Thus, he warned the Christians of the danger of being “tempted by greed and indifference.” “The many lazarians of today remind us of the word of Jesus, becoming even more effective catechesis in this jubilee, which is for all a time of conversion and forgiveness, commitment to justice and sincere search for peace,” he concluded.
39 new catechists
During the celebration, before more than 35 thousand people gathered in the Plaza de San Pedro on the occasion of the jubilee of the catechists, the Pope instituted 39 new catechists from various countries, whom he personally delivered a crucifix as a sign of his mission.
The candidates, called one by name, responded with a “here I am” to the call of the Pontiff. After the homily, each one received in his hands a cross, sign of his particular vocation.
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.