“It is God who moves history, even if he sometimes seems absent or distant.” In his first general Audience, before crowds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square despite the drizzling rain, Pope Leo XIV evoked Van Gogh’s celebrated painting of a sower at sunset, resuming the cycle of Jubilee catecheses on the theme ‘Christ our Hope’, initiated by Pope Francis. The Pope announced that this will be the theme for the entire Jubilee Year. Pope Prevost’s first general Audience took place on the thirtieth day after the passing of Pope Bergoglio. The Pontiff dedicated his final remarks to his predecessor: “We cannot conclude this encounter without remembering, with deep gratitude, our beloved Pope Francis, who returned to the House of the Father a month ago.”
During the greetings, the Pope recalled the tragic current events, starting with the situation in the Gaza Strip, which he described as “increasingly worrying and painful.” “Allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, the heart-rending price of which is being paid by children, the elderly and the sick”, the Pope said in his appeal.
Addressing the Portuguese-speaking faithful, the Pope said, “In a world torn apart and wounded by hatred and war, we are called to sow hope and work for peace!” His Holiness recalled the invitation of Our Lady of Fatima to “pray the Rosary for peace every day” in this month dedicated to Mary. “Together with Mary, we pray that people may not close themselves off to this gift from God, but rather disarm their hearts,” he urged. “Recite the Holy Rosary, an effective means of achieving true peace in our hearts,” he recommended, extending his invitation to Arabic-speaking faithful.
“Every word of the Gospel is like a seed that is thrown on the ground of our life”,
said the Holy Father, noting that “the parable of the sower talks precisely about the dynamic of the word of God and the effects it produces.” “The word of God, in fact, makes fruitful and provokes every reality”, he continued, pointing out that the soil where the sower throws the seed is “our heart, but it is also the world, the community, the Church.” “At the beginning, we see Jesus who leaves the house and gathers a great crowd around him”, he said, drawing on the Gospel of Matthew: “His word fascinates and intrigues. Among the people there are obviously many different situations. The word of Jesus is for everyone, but it works in each person in a different way.” “This context allows us to understand better the meaning of the parable”, the comment of the Pope: “A rather unusual sower goes out to sow, but does not care where the seed falls. He throws the seeds even where it is unlikely they will bear fruit: on the path, on the rocks, among the thorns.”
“We are used to calculating things – and at times it is necessary – but this does not apply in love!”,
he exclaimed. “The way in which this ‘wasteful’ sower throws the seed is an image of the way God loves us”, observed the Holy Father: “Indeed, it is true that the destiny of the seed depends also on the way in which the earth welcomes it and the situation in which it finds itself, but first and foremost in this parable Jesus tells us that
God throws the seed of his Word on all kinds of soil, that is, in any situation of ours: at times we are more superficial and distracted, at times we let ourselves get carried away by enthusiasm, sometimes we are burdened by life’s worries, but there are also times when we are willing and welcoming.”
“God is confident and hopes that sooner or later the seed will blossom”, assured Pope Prevost: “This is how he loves us: he does not wait for us to become the best soil, but he always generously gives us his word. Perhaps by seeing that he trusts us, the desire to be better soil will be kindled in us. This is hope, founded on the rock of God’s generosity and mercy.”
“This parable tells us that God is ready to ‘waste away’ for us and that Jesus is willing to die in order to transform our life”, remarked the Pontiff, who went on to recall that beautiful painting by Van Gogh, The sower at sunset.” “That image of the sower in the blazing sun also speaks to me of the farmer’s toil. And it strikes me that, behind the sower, Van Gogh depicted the grain already ripe. It seems to me an image of hope: one way or another, the seed has borne fruit. We are not sure how, but it has.” “At the centre of the scene, however, is not the sower, who stands to the side; instead, the whole painting is dominated by the image of the sun, perhaps to remind us that
it is God who moves history, even if he sometimes seems absent or distant”,
said Leo XIV: “It is the sun that warms the clods of earth and makes the seed ripen.” “In what situation of life today is the Word of God reaching us?”, the closing question to the faithful: “Let us ask the Lord for the grace always to welcome this seed that is his Word. And if we realize we are not a fruitful soil, let us not be discouraged, but let us ask him to work on us more to make us become a better terrain.”
