Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the canonization of seven new Saints, and reminds Christians of the need to pray to God fervently and trustingly, even as we face trials and tribulations.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV raised seven men and women to the honors of the altar on Sunday, as the Church celebrated World Mission Sunday.
During Mass in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope proclaimed these seven Blesseds to be canonized Saints in the Catholic Church: Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, Peter To Rot, Vincenza Maria Poloni, Maria del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, Maria Troncatti, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, and Bartolo Longo.
In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on Jesus’ question about whether the Son of Man would find faith on earth when He comes again.
The Lord’s question, said the Pope, reveals that faith is the precious bond of love between God and His people.
“Today we have before us seven witnesses, the new Saints, who, with God’s grace, kept the lamp of faith burning,” he said. “Indeed, they themselves became lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ.”
The Pope said the great “material, cultural, scientific, and artistic treasures” of our world are not to be undervalued, but noted that their true meaning is lost without faith.
A world without faith, added the Pope, would be filled with children without a Father, who would have no desire for life since there would be no hope left in their hearts for salvation.
For this reason, Jesus invites us to pray always, so that our bond of love with God may be sustained and our hearts may welcome His salvation.
“Just as breathing sustains the life of the body, so prayer sustains the life of the soul,” he said. “Faith, in fact, is expressed in prayer, and authentic prayer lives on faith.”
Pope Leo XIV noted that Christians often face two temptations when we pray. One temptation is to let the scandal of evil overcome us and lead us to think that God does not care for our plight. At other times, we are tempted to treat prayer as a command to God, as we seek to make Him act justly according to our interpretation of reality.
Jesus, said the Pope, frees us from both temptations through His prayer on the Cross asking that God’s will be done.
When we wonder where God is acting amid trials, he said, let us transform this doubt into prayer, recognizing that God is present wherever people suffer.
“When we are ‘crucified’ by pain and violence, by hatred and war, Christ is already there, on the cross for us and with us,” he said. “There is no cry that God does not console; there is no tear that is far from His heart.”
Returning to Jesus’ question if He would find faith on earth, the Pope invited Christians to embrace faith in every aspect of life, since faith sustains our commitment to justice and our desire for God’s love to save the world.
In conclusion, Pope Leo prayed that the seven new Saints will assist us in our vocation to holiness. “Faith on earth,” he said, “thus sustains the hope for heaven.”
