A week ago today, Christians around the world, Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians alike, held their collective breath waiting for white smoke, the signal that a new pope had been chosen in Rome, Italy. Just a short while after the smoke signaled that the conclave had unified around one name, Robert Francis Prevost, the cardinal appeared in the balcony and took the new name of Pope Leo XIV.
He prayed for the thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square; he prayed for his Catholic brothers and sisters, who were still grieving Pope Francis; he prayed for his kin in the United States and in Peru; he prayed for the world – for all of God’s children, especially those who are suffering from war and hunger and illness.
Now listen again to portions of the Pope’s words from both the first scene of his papacy, on the balcony on May 8, and from his sermon on Good Shepherd Sunday, three days later. In the spirit of the Resurrection, let us respond to his words in the prayers of our hearts and in our actions.
“Peace be with you all!
“Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you!”
“In the name of the risen Christ and in his example with the disciples in the Upper Room, Jesus said, “peace be with you.” After the meal he ate with them at Emmaus, he said again, “peace be with you.” He extends the essence of his presence, his peace, with all those he loves. No one is excluded from Christ’s peace. Show us, Creator of Peace, Creator of all of your children in the world, how we can offer your spirit, your peace to each person we meet, no matter their race, their ethnicity, their age, their gender, their health, their social status. Forgive us, Lord, when we withhold the greeting of the peace of the risen Christ from one of our brothers and sisters.”
On Sunday, the new pope turned his prayer to countless arenas of violence that plague our world today: Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza, India and Pakistan – “How many other conflicts are there in the world?” he lamented. Leo quoted Pope Francis in denouncing the number of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a “third world war in pieces.”
He continued, “I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people. Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible.” He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and for humanitarian relief for the “exhausted civilian population and all hostages be freed.”
Reflection and prayer response:
One of the bridges that Pope Leo XIV has built through the years is his willingness to walk within the comfort zones, the discomfort zones, the comfortable neighborhoods and the unruly neighborhoods of his brothers and sisters. He grew into this current age and into his present role alongside brothers and sisters he knew as friends, not as strangers, surrounded by community, not simply crowds. No matter where his neighbors live in the world, no matter their days of simply getting by without food or healthcare or safe passage or purpose or a safe natural environment, through Leo’s prayers for peace, he knows that God is in Sudan when he cannot be; in Haiti; in Gaza and the West Bank; in Ukraine; in Yemen; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in every other country that finds it hard to believe in peace right now. May we join him in praying for the peace of Christ that fills our spirits with God’s love, love that can be in every heart in the world at once.
One writer expressed his thoughts about Leo’s self-sacrificial love to humanity. He said, “I was deeply touched when you spoke in Spanish to your beloved flock in Peru – to brothers and sisters who ministered to you as you ministered to them, accompanying and helping you as you travelled along your own path to Christ and his kingdom even while you were directing them along the way. Another writer, expressing his own spiritual practice, told of meeting a Columbian traveler several times; they were able to say the Lord’s Prayer together in Spanish. The prayer in itself was the entirety of the language they shared. It was enough for these travelers.
Reflection and prayer response:
Consider praying “Peace be with you all!” in a less familiar or foreign language. And offer the prayer in English or in another language to someone you know. Here it is in the other four languages Pope Leo XIV speaks:
Spanish: la paz sea contigo
Italian: la pace sin con te
French: la poi soit avec
Portuguese: a paz esteja com você
We are all called to the work of peace, for that peace is the fruit of persistent concern for the dignity of others. We are grateful that Pope Leo XIV calls each of us in the world to the work of peace in our own place, in our own way, building upon our own skills, passions, and experiences.
May we seek the good in one another, building a society that protects and upholds the dignity in each of us and all creation.
Unarmed.
Disarming.
Humble.
Persevering.
Let these words be on our lips as we go out into the world, intent on being and building peace.
Leo XIV’s remembrances are a blessing and a benediction: “We can still hear the faint yet ever courageous voice of Pope Francis . . . who gave his blessing to the world, the whole world, on the morning of Easter. Allow me to extend that same blessing:
God loves us,
God loves you all,
and evil will not prevail!
All of us are in God’s hands.
So let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another! We are followers of Christ. Christ goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together, as one people, always at peace.”
In this season of Eastertide, “Practice resurrection.”
“Peace be with you all.”
Amen.
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