Pope Leo IV – Welcome the Lord who knocks at our door.

In his Angelus message on Sunday in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo invited to welcome the Lord who knocks at our door asking permission to enter. He underscores the importance of listening to and welcoming others, while also allowing ourselves to welcomed.

Recalling the Old and New Testament readings of today’s liturgy on the theme of hospitality as shown by Abraham and his wife Sarah, and then later by the friends of Jesus, Martha and Mary, the Pope reflected on the interplay of giving and receiving hospitality.

Humility in offering and receiving hospitality –

Kindness, attentiveness and openness are part of what hospitality is about, but so too and especially is humility, the Pope noted. He recalled how the Gospel reading recounts how Martha is overwhelmed with serving, being the good and generous person she was, but she risked missing out on the joy of the encounter being with the Lord and hearing his words.

Openness to something greater than ourselves –

Attentiveness has importance, as “our lives can only flourish if we learn to be open to something greater than ourselves” that brings “happiness and fulfillment”, the Pope explained. And Mary, Martha’s sister, recognized the importance of that encounter in not only welcoming, but listening to the Lord.

Slowing down and listening –

In conclusion, the Pope encouraged us to follow Mary’s example by slowing down and listening so that we do not “fail to choose the better part.” And we can always improve on our learning the art of hospitality, he suggested, and this “includes both welcoming others and allowing ourselves to be welcomed”, since “we have much to receive, not only to give“. It’s about recognising how every genuine encounter is freely offered, “whether it is an encounter with God, with others or with nature“.

“Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, our Mother, who welcomed our Lord, bore him in her womb, and together with Joseph gave him a home. In her, we see the beauty of our own vocation, the vocation of the Church, to be a home open to all and in this way to welcome her Lord, who knocks at our door and asks our permission to enter”.

Shortly after his prayer appeal, Pope Leo mourns the three Gazans killed in an attack on the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza city, which he says is “just one” of the “continuous” attacks on Gaza’s people and holy sites.

Pope Leo XIV has expressed his “deep sorrow” over the recent Israeli attack on the Catholic parish in Gaza, and called for “an immediate halt to the barbarity” in the Strip.

After the Holy Family church was struck on Thursday morning, three of the approximately 600 Gazans sheltering there were killed, and several others, including the parish priest Fr Gabriel Romanelli, were injured.

Speaking on Sunday after reciting the Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope named the three victims – Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud – and said he was “close” to them and their families. Pope Leo then stressed that the attack “is just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza”.

The Pope appealed for “an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war” and for “a peaceful resolution of the conflict”. He urged the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, “as well as the prohibition against collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population”.

Pope Leo brought his appeal to a close with a message to “our beloved” Christian communities in the Middle East, saying he understood they felt they could “do little, in the face of this tragic situation”.  

“You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church”, he said. “Thank you for your witness of faith”.

Team Maverick