Pope Leo: Christ’s words to keep His commandments are not an ‘ultimatum’ but an invitation

In his May 10 Regina Caeli address on keeping Christ’s commandments, Pope Leo XIV gave an in-depth explanation of what living in Christ’s love means, highlighting that it enables people to be in communion with God and to love one another because Christ first loved them.

This love is not earned, Pope Leo stressed. He explained that when it is received and reciprocated, however, this love should compel one to live differently than before by embracing God’s commandments. 

The Sunday Gospel recounts Christ telling His disciples during the Last Supper, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” 

Pope Leo said these words clarify “the misconception that we are loved because we keep the commandments, as if our righteousness were a prerequisite for God’s love.” 

“On the contrary, God’s love is the basis for our righteousness,” he continued. “We truly keep the commandments according to God’s will when we recognize his love for us, just as Christ revealed it to the world. Jesus’ words are therefore an invitation to enter into a relationship, not a blackmail or a suspicious ultimatum.”

This is the reason Jesus commands the faithful to love one another as He has, Pope Leo continued: “It is Jesus’ love that begets love within us.”

The love that the faithful should strive to cultivate can be seen perfectly lived out in Christ, he explained. Jesus is the standard and measure of real love, which is “faithful forever, pure and unconditional,” he said. 

“The love that knows no ‘buts’ or ‘maybes;’ the love that gives of itself without seeking to possess; the love that gives life without taking anything in return,” he continued. “Because God loved us first, we too can love, and when we truly love God, we truly love one another.”

In the same way that one can only live if he or she has received life, one can only love if he or she has first been loved, he explained. The commandments are thus a way to “heal us from false loves,” he said, and provide a spiritual lifestyle that is a path toward salvation. 

In His love, Jesus does not abandon people in the difficulties of life, Pope Leo continued, but assures His disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and “Spirit of Truth,” will be with them. 

“This gift is one that ‘the world cannot receive’, as long as it persists in evil, oppressing the poor, excluding the weak and killing the innocent,” Pope Leo said. “Those who respond to Jesus’ love for all, on the other hand, will find in the Holy Spirit an ally who will never fail: ‘You know him,’ says Jesus, ‘for he dwells with you, and will be in you’. We can therefore bear witness to God, who is love, always and everywhere.”

Love is not a human-invented idea, “but the reality of divine life,” he stressed. It redeemed creation from death and offers healing, combating the divisiveness of Satan. 

“By offering us true and eternal love, Jesus shares with us his identity as the beloved Son: ‘I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you,’” he concluded. “This all-encompassing communion of life refutes the Accuser — the Paraclete’s adversary, the spirit opposed to our defender. In fact, while the Holy Spirit is the power of truth, the Accuser is the ‘father of lies’, who seeks to set humanity against God and people against one another: the very opposite of what Jesus does by saving us from evil and uniting us as a people of brothers and sisters in the Church.”

He then encouraged the faithful to entrust themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Love, and led the Regina Caeli prayer. 

Afterward, Pope Leo welcomed the pilgrims and groups in attendance and spoke about several international affairs. He first lamented the violence in the Sahel region, where terrorists in Chad and Mali killed at least two dozen and injured many others in recent attacks. He emphasized his spiritual closeness to those suffering and that he is praying for the victims. 

He also expressed gratitude to the Canary Island communities who have welcomed the cruise ship Hondius, which has several passengers who are suffering from a hantavirus outbreak. Three people from the ship have died from the illness. 

The Holy Father also acknowledged two special occasions being celebrated on May 10: the “Day of Coptic-Catholic Friendship” and Mother’s Day. To the former, he offered greetings to the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, and noted his prayers for the whole Coptic Church. 

“It is my hope that our journey of friendship will lead us to perfect unity in Christ, who has called us ‘friends,’” he said, citing Christ’s words in John 15:15. 

Concluding, he encouraged all the faithful to pray for mothers. 

“Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our own Mother, let us pray with love and gratitude for every mother, particularly those living in very difficult circumstances,” he said. “Thank you! May God bless you!”