Pope Leo asks Catholics: ‘Who Is Jesus, truly, for me?’
At Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to continually rediscover Christ, deepen their friendship with Him, and ensure their daily choices reflect the faith they profess.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged Catholics during his Aug. 23 Angelus message in St. Peter’s Square to consider a series of questions: “Who is the Lord for me?” “Do I truly know Him?” “What is His Gospel asking of me today?” and “What steps and what choices am I called to make?”
Reflecting on Matthew 16:13-20, in which Jesus asks the 12 apostles, “But Who do you say that I am?”, the Pope said the question remains fundamental for every Christian.
“Although the 12 apostles had already shared so much of the life and ministry of their teacher, Jesus did not take for granted that they truly knew him or had understood the mystery of the Kingdom of God,” the Pontiff said, according to the Holy See Press Office.
Christ’s disciples today must also search their hearts for an answer, Pope Leo said. That discernment takes place through prayer and meditation on the Gospel, but also through encounters with the needs of others and “those relationships and situations that most deeply challenge our conscience.”
In daily life, the Pope said, Christians can discover whether they see Jesus merely as an important historical figure or truly recognize Him as the Christ, sent to bring humanity into the Father’s love and transform both individual lives and the world.
“We continually need to rediscover the face of Christ and His Gospel, to enter more deeply into His message and to renew the choices we make in our lives, so that they may be consistent with what we profess,” the Pope said. “In this way, we can overcome the temptation to think that we already know everything and to reduce faith to mere habit.”
The Pontiff explained that Catholics may often feel content to rely on common assumptions and the understandings they have inherited from others, but Jesus desires more.
“Jesus calls us to give a personal response, to know Him more closely and to allow ourselves to be shaped by friendship with Him through an ever new encounter,” the Pope remarked.
That encounter with Christ can lead believers in unexpected directions.
“This may also ask us to follow unfamiliar paths and to make choices different from those we had imagined,” the Pope said. “This is true both for our personal journey and for the journey of the Church, as well as for our pastoral choices, when we may sometimes think that it is enough simply to continue doing things as we have always done them.”
Pope Leo concluded his reflection by invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking that she guide the faithful along the path of faith as they seek God’s will.
After the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo spoke out regarding several international concerns. He said he has been praying for people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially those affected by the Ebola epidemic, and he asked international community members to involve local communities in prevention efforts to spare lives. He also called for prayers for the people of Central African Republic, where a mine collapsed Aug. 18, killing more than 100 workers, according to a Vatican News report, and for the people impacted by the earthquake that occurred 10 years ago in central Italy.
