Pope says power does not build God’s Kingdom

Addressing pilgrims gathered for the Sunday Angelus in Castel Gandolfo on July 19, the Pope reflected on three parables from St Matthew’s Gospel – the wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed, and the yeast – which, he said, reveal the way God acts in history and in the lives of men and women.

Rather than imposing himself by force or arriving in triumph, the Pope said, God chooses “smallness” as the sign of his discreet and patient love.

“He leaves us free to accept or reject him,” Pope Leo said, noting that God’s love makes its presence felt even “among the weeds”, works invisibly like the smallest of seeds and transforms the world silently, like yeast in dough.

The Pope acknowledged that many people expect God to intervene dramatically, immediately eliminating evil from the world. Such expectations, he warned, can also shape an unhealthy vision of the Christian life and of the Church.

Instead, he said, Christians are called to recognise that the Kingdom grows even amid the presence of evil. This requires learning to discern the good that continues to emerge despite darkness, resisting the temptation to make hasty judgements and patiently accompanying the gradual work of God’s grace.

The Kingdom, he continued, often appears in the ordinary moments of daily life, growing unnoticed yet constantly at work. Even when God seems absent, the Pope assured the faithful, he is always present and his love is always ready to help.

Pope Leo went on to say that God’s way of acting must also become the way Christians live – both personally and as members of the Church.

He encouraged believers to adopt what he described as a “Gospel-centred approach”, avoiding arrogance, the desire to dominate others or the use of power to impose the faith. Instead, Christians should place their trust in God’s quiet work.

Speaking after the recitation of the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo said: “We continue to follow with concern the events unfolding in various countries torn apart by war and violence. Let us not forget those who are suffering and dying because of these conflicts and let us add our constant prayers to the generous efforts for peace.”

FULL STORY

Pope at Angelus: God’s Kingdom grows quietly through love, not force (Vatican News)

Pope Leo: May we not forget those who suffer and die due to war (Vatican News)