"Love One Another" — A Year With Pope Leo XIV

I can't believe it's only been one year since a Chicago-born, Peruvian Cardinal named "Bob" appeared on the balcony of the Sistine Chapel in response to the proclamation "Habemus Papam!" In one year, the "new" Bishop of Rome known to everyone as Leo XIV has already made a powerful mark on the history of the Successors of Saint Peter, especially among the people of the nation of his birth (Catholic and non-Catholic alike). I need not revisit all he has said and done, since this entire blog has been more about him than anyone else during the past year. His distinct focus on the communion-of-persons-in-fraternal-charity continues to develop our understanding of this core element of Christian and human experience. We need this in a special way in our world today with all of its alienation, division, and violence. 

Pope Leo draws on the evident prayerful depth of his own relationship with Jesus Christ, along with his lifelong experience as a missionary (and former Superior General) of the Augustinians and as a Bishop in Latin America. Beyond all of that, he has been given that unique Papal "charism" that empowers him to use his particular gifts in the service of the whole Church.

We have seen, in particular, how people in the United States are being challenged by Leo's insistence on the radical Gospel foundations of Catholic Social Teaching, as well as its reasonableness and amplitude. USA Catholics are growing in the awareness of their distinctive "Catholic" identity in Anglo-American society and some of the important responsibilities it entails.

It was fitting that the gospel reading for today (quoted above) emphasized fraternal love and its Source: God's outpouring of His love for us through Jesus Christ. This love -  expressed in the context of compassion and mercy - is the way God reveals Himself, and when we experience the embrace of His love, we are raised up to a supernatural existence and empowered to respond with a love for God that participates in His absolute vitality. This same love enables us to see our fellow humans as God sees them. They are our brothers and sisters, and we are all children of God our Father who sent His Only-Begotten Son to save us and to give us a share in the communion of Trinitarian Love. This is our hope for eternity, but it also infuses and transforms our relationships even in this world, as we journey together toward that definitive Life and "work out" our salvation day by day.

UPDATE: 

In his remarks for the Regina Caeli on May 10, Pope Leo addresses the mystery of how God's love empowers us to love one another according to incomprehensible measure of His own love. This is no vague sentimental humanitarianism. It is the Christian vocation. Lived in patience and trust, this vocation always bears fruit in eternity, and also (according to God's wisdom) on the roads of this world.

"Christ says: 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments' (John 14:15). This statement frees us from the misconception that we are loved because we keep the commandments, as if our righteousness were a prerequisite for God’s love. On the contrary, God’s love is the basis for our righteousness. We truly keep the commandments according to God’s will when we recognize his love for us, just as Christ revealed it to the world. Jesus’ words are therefore an invitation to enter into a relationship, not a blackmail or a suspicious ultimatum.

"This is why the Lord commands us to love one another as he has loved us (cf. John 13:34): it is Jesus’ love that begets love within us. Christ himself is the standard, the measure of true love: the love that is faithful forever, pure and unconditional. The love that knows no 'buts' or 'maybes;' the love that gives of itself without seeking to possess; the love that gives life without taking anything in return. Because God loved us first, we too can love, and when we truly love God, we truly love one another. It is like life itself: just as only those who have received life can live, so too, only those who have been loved can love. The Lord’s commandments are therefore a way of life that heal us from false loves. They are a spiritual lifestyle that is a path towards salvation."

~Leo XIV, Regina Caeli, May 10, 2026