In his homily at Mass on Feb. 22, Pope Leo said that God offers the gift of true freedom
ROME — While Satan tempts humanity with the lie of gaining unlimited power, God offers the gift of true freedom that leads to real love, relationships and fulfillment, Pope Leo XIV said.
Beginning with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, humankind has had to face “the age-old dilemma: Can I live my life to the fullest by saying ‘yes’ to God? Or, to be free and happy, must I free myself from Him?” the pope said in his homily during a morning Mass celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome Feb. 22.
Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, shows the world “the new man, the free man, the epiphany of freedom that is realized by saying ‘yes’ to God” and “opposing the snares” of the devil, he said.
The Lenten season is a time to rediscover the beauty of baptism as a grace that does not negate, but that “encounters our freedom,” the pope said in his homily on the first Sunday of Lent.
“The story in Genesis brings us back to our condition as creatures, tested not so much by a prohibition, as is often believed, but by a possibility: the possibility of a relationship” with God the Creator and all his creatures, he said. “Human beings are free to recognize and welcome the otherness of the Creator.”
But the devil, in the form of the serpent, tempted Adam and Eve with the illusion of becoming like God, deceiving them that God was actually seeking to deny them of something “to keep them in a state of inferiority,” the pope said.
Jesus, however, shows how freedom comes from finding fulfillment in loving God and one’s neighbor, he said.
“This new humanity is born from the baptismal font,” which is “the source of life that dwells within us and that, in a dynamic way, accompanies us with the utmost respect for our freedom,” Pope Leo said.
Baptism is “dynamic,” he said, “because it sets us on a journey again and again, since grace is an inner voice that urges us to conform ourselves to Jesus.”
Baptism is about building a relationship, he said, as it “calls us to live in friendship with Jesus and, in this way, to enter into His communion with the Father.”
“This grace-filled relationship enables us to live in authentic closeness with others, a freedom that — unlike what the devil proposes to Jesus — is not a search for power, but love that one gives and makes us all brothers and sisters,” he said.
Before praying the noon Angelus, the pope again reflected on the day’s Gospel reading of Jesus in the desert, where He fasted and resisted the temptations of the devil, showing “how we, too, can overcome the devil’s deception and snares.”
“By means of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we can renew our cooperation with the Lord in the crafting of our lives as a unique masterpiece,” he said. “This involves allowing Him to cleanse the stains and heal the wounds of sin, as we commit to letting our lives blossom in beauty until they attain the fullness of love — the only source of true happiness.”
“This is a demanding journey,” he said, especially when there are promises of “easier paths to satisfaction, such as wealth, fame and power.”
However, these temptations, which Jesus Himself faced, “are merely poor substitutes for the joy for which we were created. Ultimately, they leave us dissatisfied, restless and empty,” he said.
That is why penance, “far from impoverishing our humanity — enriches, purifies and strengthens it,” he said. “Indeed, while penance makes us aware of our limitations, it also grants us the strength to overcome them and to live, with God’s help, in deeper communion with him and with one another.”
Editor’s note: Pope Leo XIV did not hold a general audience on Feb. 25 due to the Vatican curia retreat.
