Welcome, Pope Leo XIV
“What I am for you terrifies me; what I am with you consoles me. For you I am a bishop; but with you I am a Christian. The former is a duty; the latter a grace. The former is a danger; the latter, salvation.”
HABEMUS PAPUM!!
I had the privilege of actually being at church when the white smoke showed - I was able to share the moment with some of my closest church friends and even our parish priest. It was a glorious moment, indeed!
I chose this opening quote as it is very clear how influential St. Augustine has been to our new pope - not just because he is in the Augustinian order, but because St. Augustine of Hippo is a doctor of the church. His teachings and writings were so influential to the entire church and all to come in the future. It stands to reason that many of his sayings will go hand and hand with our new pope.
I had never heard of this man before Thursday - I believe he truly embodies the humble quality that is important for popes to have. I am very excited to get to know this new pope and to learn more about not only his personal life but his teachings and thoughts on all kinds of issues.
Walk with me as we explore some of my favorite quotes from Robert Francis Prevost, now known to the world as Pope Leo XIV.
“The measure of love is to love without measure.”
A simple message. Short, concise, but so full of meaning. Love should not be measured. When you love, you love with everything you have. You love without measure, you love without counting. There is no end. When we focus on loving without measure, we are truly embodying the love of God, loving like He loves. When we start limiting or counting or measuring, we lose the true meaning of love.
“We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.”
This is a beautiful message to remember Jesus and His ways - to be kind, loving, and just open the doors to God's love and mercy. Just be there for those who need you, who need God. We are open to anyone, everyone, all people who want to know the goodness of God.
“Unity and communion are essential charisms of the life of the Order and a fundamental part of understanding what the Church is and what it means to be in it.”
What first comes to mind when you hear unity and communion? I think of the Eucharist, personally. It's what the entire Mass is centered around and it's a beautiful experience to have God truly inside you. It's a physical reminder that God is with us always. But there is another meaning to this as well - communion and unity can come in the form of friendship, and being a part of your church and parish. When you are active in your parish, you are creating unity and communion within your church and yourself. It deepens our own understanding of what it means to be a part of a universal church.
“Do not be afraid to say yes. Do not be afraid to open your heart to the possibility that the Lord is calling you to religious life, or to Augustinian life, or to the priesthood, or to other forms of service in the Church.”
I think this quote will hit a lot of you in the heart - it's so hard to say yes to things that are new or scary. It's hard to say yes to things that are unknown. TRUST. Trust that everything will be okay - trust that God will call you to what he knows you should do. It doesn't have to be priesthood, or religious life, it can be motherhood or even other forms of service within your parish. Volunteering, a job in the office, music ministry, etc. Anything. Don't be afraid to say YES!
“Our blessed Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close to us, she always wants to help us with her intercession and her love.”
A beautiful reminder that Mother Mary wants to know us, she wants to help us, she wants us to come to her like she really is our mother. She wants to help us. I can tell you my life changed once I started praying the Our Lady Undoer of Knots novena and prayer. Surrender. Let your mother help you. She loves you more than you could ever imagine and wants to help you, always!
“I enjoy relaxing with friends and meeting a broad range of different people. Different people can greatly enhance our lives.”
Ah, the humanity of the pope. A beautiful reminder to expand your horizons and talk with people. Get to know them. Go outside your comfort zone and just talk to others, even if they don't have the same political views or theology of life. Get to know the real them and it will be amazing to see how much your life improves. I love how our new pope has spend decades with some of the poorest people on earth, giving him such a wonderful view of what it truly means to be a human and child of God. Our lives can all be better once we try to get to know ALL of God's children.
“We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine, the way of living our faith, but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ and to bear witness to our closeness to the Lord. This comes first: to communicate the beauty of the faith, the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus. It means that we ourselves are living it and sharing this experience.”
This quote is deep - it speaks to us on a whole different level than some of the other quotes. Pope Leo is saying that we must know Jesus ourselves before we can go out and teach to others. It's more important to know the beauty of Christ and really develop that personal relationship before we focus on educating others on it. So often, we get caught up in teaching others, we forget to foster our own relationship with God. That must come first.
So as you proceed through this week...
...pray for Pope Leo. Pray for the souls of all the previous popes. Pray for all those in the Vatican as they work endlessly to adjust to a new leadership. Let these quotes sit in your mind, ponder how they apply to your life, and I urge you all to learn more about our new pope. Learn about his childhood, his life, and what he stands for. I have a feeling things are really going to change and I am very excited about it!
A nice message from Hallow...
Pray for Pope Leo XIV, or pray in the Augustinian tradition from which he comes, with some of these prayers.
Holy Spirit Prayer of St. Augustine:
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy.
Pray this simple prayer for Pope Leo XIV’s papacy:
Heavenly Father, You have entrusted Pope Leo XIV with Christ’s Church. Bless him, protect him, keep his heart soft amid the stresses and challenges he will undoubtedly face, so that he’s open to the Spirit guiding him–and all of us–towards the future of the Church, a future that sees us loving more deeply and treating those around us with greater charity, in the spirit of Augustine. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
Pray the St. Rita Novena. St. Rita was an Augustinian Nun who was canonize by Pope Leo XIII.
Pray the St. Monica Novena. St. Monica, mother of Augustine, is a remarkable model of faith.
