Before leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that “acting in truth has its cost, because there are those in the world who choose lies.” He urges us “not to respond to insolence with vengeance.” Jesus asks us to remain “faithful to the truth in love,” like the martyrs, whom we can imitate “in different circumstances and ways.”
Persecution can be encountered by those who choose to follow Christ because Jesus’ mission, as the Lord himself said is a “sign of contradiction” and not a “bed of roses,” the Pope emphasized in his Sunday Angelus reflection. The Pope addressed some 2,500 pilgrims gathered in the Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo, after presiding over the morning Mass at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano.
Pope Leo recalled how the Lord’s “message of love and justice” will be “rejected” and for this reason, He would be “opposed, arrested, insulted, beaten, crucified.”
The same experience has been shared by many early Christian communities, “peaceful communities that, despite their own limitations, sought to live the best they could the Master’s message of love. Yet, they were suffering persecutions,” he explained.
Faithful gathered in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo for the Angelus (@Vatican Media)
Persevering in doing good
The Pope explained that Jesus invites us, with his help, not to give up and conform ourselves to a worldly mentality, but rather to persevere in doing good for all, even for those who make us suffer. He added we are “not to respond to insolence with vengeance,” but instead to “remain faithful to the truth in love.”
Living up to our Gospel calling
This fidelity to the truth is what the martyrs demonstrate “by shedding their blood for their faith,” the Pope explained, adding that “we, too, can imitate their example even in different circumstances and ways.”
The Pope greeting pilgrims and faithful (@Vatican Media)
Let us think, for example, of the price that good parents must pay if they want to educate their children according to sound principles. Eventually they will have to say “no” and correct their children; this will cause them pain.
The same thing happens to “a teacher who desires to form students properly,” or to “a professional, religious, or politician, who desires to carry out their mission honestly,” or to “anyone who strives to exercise his or her responsibilities consistently according to the teachings of the Gospel.”
Crowds gathered in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo (@VATICAN MEDIA)
Being faithful and courageous witnesses of Christ
In conclusion, Pope Leo encouraged everyone to pray to Mary, Queen of Martyrs, that she may help “be faithful and courageous witnesses of her Son in every circumstance, and to sustain our brothers and sisters who suffer for the faith today”