By Fr. Victor Feltes
In Pope Leo XIV’s first homily after his election he spoke on how people at the time of Jesus fall into two camps or attitudes about him. The wealthy and powerful consider Jesus “a completely insignificant person, at best someone with an unusual and striking way of speaking and acting. And so, once his presence becomes irksome because of his demands for honesty and his stern moral requirements, this ‘world’ will not hesitate to reject and eliminate him.”
The other group and attitude is “that of ordinary people. For them, the Nazarene is not a charlatan, but an upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things, like other great prophets in the history of Israel. That is why they follow him, at least for as long as they can do so without too much risk or inconvenience. Yet to them he is only a man, and therefore, in times of danger, during his passion, they too abandon him and depart disappointed.”
“What is striking about these two attitudes is their relevance today. They embody notions that we could easily find on the lips of many men and women in our own time, even if, while essentially identical, they are expressed in different language. Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
“Today, too, there are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or uber-man. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism. This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which, as Pope Francis taught us so many times, we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior. Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
This homily was an excellent reflection for us but there is one more takeaway I wish to share with you. In its reporting, The New York Times’s headline read: “Leo XIV Vows to Lift Up ‘Ordinary People’ in first Mass as Pope. In Pope Leo XIV’s first homily on Friday, he put himself squarely on the side of ‘ordinary people,’ and against the rich and powerful…” Someone who only read that would think the new pope’s homily was about political class struggle, but having read his words yourself you can see what Leo really taught: that if we consider Jesus to be merely a man, we will either despise him or abandon him. “Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
I have learned a lesson from watching the coverage of both Francis and Benedict’s pontificates which prompts me to offer this word of warning at the start of Leo’s pontificate: Do not trust the media to accurately report on what the pope teaches. Through ignorance, bias, or malice they will regularly have things wrong. It is good for us that a pope now speaks English as his first language, but expect the press to sometimes misleadingly excerpt even those remarks. So if and when you hear a strange report about the pope, do not let your heart be troubled. Learn from Leo directly and trust in the Lord.
Parishable Items 
Leave a comment