I don’t know about all of you but I am following everything that Pope LEO XIV says with great attention. And that at-tention has been leading to a whole lot of joy for me personally! Within this letter are included some excerpts from a recent homily at a Mass of Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

"Pope Leo XIV implored clergy in church authority to "make oneself small" in order to glorify Christ, echoing a theme of his predecessor Pope Francis in his first public Mass on May 9. "Move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him," Leo said a day after his election as the 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church.
The Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated in the Sistine Chapel with the College of Cardinals, notably alongside the same 132 cardinals who (on May 8th) cast ballots in the world's most secretive election process in that same sacred space and stunned many around the world with their choice. Also at the Mass were the more than 80 retired cardinals that could not participate in the papal conclave.

During his homily, Leo paid tribute to his predecessor, saying that Pope Francis "taught us so many times, we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior."

This can be difficult in today's world, he said, where Christianity is often "considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent" and "other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power or pleasure."

Preaching the Gospel and bearing witness to its truth is not easy, Leo said.

"Believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied," Leo said. "Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary out-reach is desperately needed."

Leo said that a lack of faith has often resulted in a "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."

The task of all Christians — beginning with the leader of the Catholic Church, he said — is to commit to a "daily journey of conversion" of "fidelity to the Lord and bringing the Good News to all." Excerpt from ncronline.org/vatican/pope-leo-xiv-church-authority-make-oneself-small-glorify-christ.

May we all follow his exam-le! God’s blessings to you all.

Yours in Christ,