God's omnipotence is the omnipotence of love. He gives Himself freely and draws forth from within us the response in freedom of our own adherence, transforming us through His enduring love rather than imposing Himself by violence. We are called to follow God's plan of love in our way of perceiving the circumstances of this present life and in our love for others: with patience, perseverance, respect for the dignity of every human person, and confident hope that the Father's love will prevail through the gift of His Son Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
This is not easy for us Christians. We want God to "win" — or, rather, we think we want Him to "win" — according to our ideas of earthly success, which cannot encompass the mystery of His love. It is easy to slip into the pattern of wanting the victory of goodness according to our own measure, as the vindication of our power to control our own lives and our presumed superiority over others. It is easy to forget the Cross. But we have hope, because the Lord's ways are ever-greater and He has come to dwell with us. He calls us continually to give ourselves, go beyond ourselves, adhere to Him, and — in union with Him and by the transfiguring grace of His Spirit — to love one another as children of the Father, as brothers and sisters; to love our neighbors and even our enemies.
Here is an excerpt from the Pope's words today (courtesy of Vatican website):
"Following the parable of the sower, Jesus continues to address the crowds using a series of images: the good wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast in the dough (cf. Mt 13:24–43)...[;] through these parables, Jesus reveals something important about the manner in which God works in our lives and in history.
"We sometimes expect God to do something spectacular; we want him to intervene from on high, immediately uprooting the weeds of evil. We imagine a strong and powerful God, and, unfortunately, we also model our way of being Christians and way of being the Church on this image. However, the Kingdom of God spreads even amidst the weeds, requiring us to train our vision so we can discern the good that sprouts despite the darkness of evil, and avoiding rash judgments. It comes like the smallest of seeds and thus calls for patience in accompanying these processes, so that we can recognize it in the little things of daily life and in the simplicity of ordinary existence. It grows invisibly like yeast in flour, and so we are freed from discouragement and invited to have faith even when it seems that God is absent. In fact, he is always with us, and his love is always ready to help us.
"God’s way of acting must also become the way in which we live, both as individuals and as the Church, amidst the reality that surrounds us. We are called to adopt a Gospel-centered approach, without hastily opposing others through arrogant judgments, without imposing ourselves through power and force, and without losing trust in God’s work.”
~Pope Leo XIV, Angelus of Sunday, July 19, 2026
