On the Sunday that we hear the words of Jesus in the Gospel, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” (Jn 10:27), we have a new Pope. Pope Leo XIV is the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Could it have been Francis II? If it were, would it be any more exciting?
For us Catholics, the election of a new Pope is always an assurance of both God’s continuing fidelity to God’s people and the enduring mission of the Church. On the one hand, in the election of a new Pope, the Church continues to be pastored by the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. On the other hand, in the same election the Church is entrusted with her mission by the same Shepherd.
Leo XIV captured both of these dimensions in his very first words and in his very first homily at his first Mass as Pope. Today, I hope to reflect on today’s election of the new Pope in light of today’s scripture readings.
Jesus the Good Shepherd
One of the most important elements of Pope Francis’ legacy for me was the centrality of Christ and the Gospel. I am delighted that in his homily at his first Mass as Pope, Leo XIV, like his predecessor, placed Christ at the center. He began his homily with Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). As the Pope said, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God: the one Savior, who alone reveals the face of the Father.”
About the centrality of Christ, there is an analysis Pope Leo XIV shares which is very insightful. He says that the conversation between Jesus and the disciples which led to Peter’s Messianic confession, took place in Caesarea Philippi – a beautiful town, set against a magnificent natural landscape, and filled with luxurious palaces. But it was also “a place of cruel power plays, betrayals, and infidelity.” Here, Jesus was a completely insignificant person, at best someone with an unusual and striking way of speaking and acting. As Jesus began to demand honesty and moral uprightness, his presence became irksome and he would be rejected, and finally, eliminated. Besides these, there were the ordinary folks. For them, Jesus was but an upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things. They follow him but without too much risk or inconvenience. In times of danger, during his passion, they too abandon him and depart disappointed.
The Pope finds parallel for this in today’s world. He calls it a crisis of faith in the world. There are sections of the world in which the Christian faith, like at Caesarea Philippi, is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Here people find security in like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. And then there are also sections where Jesus is greatly admired but is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. Finally, he uses the concept, “practical atheism,” to refer to baptized Christians who for many reasons have not allowed Christ to transform them like Peter and the disciples did. In the Pope’s analysis, “This is the world that has been entrusted to the Church. Then quoting Pope Francis, he says that this is world to which “we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior.”
The centrality of Christ truly comes through even more toward the end of his homily. He makes a reference to Ignatius of Antioch, who before he was martyred said, “Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body” (Letter to the Romans, IV, 1). Pope Leo XIV sees an inspiration in these words for himself and all those who exercise authority in the Church. He says, “It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”
An Enduring Mission but For Our Times
What then is the mission of the Church? Pope Leo XIV says, “…that she [the Church] may be ever more fully a city set on a hill (cf. Rev 21:10), an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history, and a beacon that illumines the dark nights of this world.” Coming after Leo XIII, perhaps the choice of the name Leo XIV has something to do with how he understands this mission of the Church.
Leo XIII was pope for 25 years and in them he wrote 31 encyclicals. Many of these encyclicals are on Marian devotions and 12 of them are on the Rosary. But Leo XIII also addressed the social responsibility of the Church in a way that was unprecedented. In 1878 he wrote an encyclical on Socialism. In it he emphasizes the right to private property but also called on the responsibility of the State to create just and equitable societies. In 1888 he wrote an encyclical on the abolition of slavery and in the same year he wrote one on Italian immigrants to the US. But the most important was the 1891 social encyclical Rerum Novarum (Of New Things). It became the precursor to the entire body of teaching we now know as the Catholic Social teachings.
These are my personal insight, but I see tones of Leo XIII in the way Leo XIV talks about the debilitating social impact this crisis of faith has on the world. To quote him, “A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
In this context, Pope Leo’s vision of the Church’s mission is very much like his predecessor. He does not express the mission of the Church in a triumphal or arrogant way but in a humble and loving way. His first words, were, “Peace be with you all!” He added, “This is the peace of the Risen Christ: a disarmed peace, a disarming peace, humble and persevering, it comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally.” This tone of humility was expressed again in his first homily. He described the Church not in the context of the “magnificence of her structures or the grandeur of her buildings” but in terms of “the holiness of her members.” Similarly in his first statement as Pope, he said, “We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us; the world needs His light, humanity needs Him as a bridge to be reached by God and His love. Help us as well—help one another—to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, uniting everyone to be one single people always in peace.”
Practical Implications
As I read it, there are some practical implications we can draw from the Pope’s opening statements and his first homily. First, we must make a renewed confession of our own faith. The Pope says, “Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Then sounding almost identical to Pope Francis’ plea in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium, he says, “It is essential to do this, first of all, in our personal relationship with the Lord, in our commitment to a daily journey of conversion. Then, to do so as a Church, experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the Good News to all.”
The second implication flows from the personal confession of faith. It flows into the mission of the Church, the entire Body of Christ. This was clear in his opening statement. For Pope Leo, our task is what he sees as his own – “…as a united Church always seeking peace, justice, always striving to work as faithful women and men of Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.” He ended with, “We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, dialogue, always open to welcome…, all those who need our presence.”
The third implication is not explicit, but I am personally drawing it from his words. I think Pope Leo is very concerned about the division within the Church. He talks about a “united Church” and that “we must seek together to be a missionary Church.” Hence, when he talks about dialogue, building bridges, and being always open to welcome, on the one hand he is talking about the world. But on the other, and I think this will become clear very soon in papacy, he is talking about the conversations, the welcome, and the building bridges that is needed within the Church.
Today, in the Gospel reading, we hear Jesus say, “My sheep hear my voice.” Both Jesus and Good Shepherd and our earthly shepherd Pope Leo XIV are inviting us to the same thing – to keep Jesus and his voice at the center of our personal and communal life, and to let His mission of love, peace, justice, welcome, and building bridges become our own mission. Let us hear their voice and follow them. Amen.
Image: Vatican Media
Fr. Satish Joseph was ordained in India in 1994 and incardinated into the archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2008. He has a Masters in Communication and Doctorate in Theology from the University of Dayton. He is presently Pastor at Immaculate Conception and St. Helen parishes in Dayton, OH. He is also the founder Ite Missa Est ministries (www.itemissaest.org) and uses social media extensively for evangelization. He is also the founder of MercyPets (www.mercypets.org) — a charitable fund that invites pet-owners to donate a percent of their pet expenses to alleviate child hunger. MercyPets is active in four countries since its founding in December 2017. Apart from serving at the two parishes, he facilitates retreats, seminars and parish missions.
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