This afternoon, Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Holy Father Leo XIV paid a pastoral visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido.

The Pope, during the visit, met with the children attending catechism classes, young people, the elderly, the sick, the poor, Caritas volunteers and the pastoral Council.

At 17.00, the Holy Father presided over the celebration of Holy Mass in the parish church.

The following is the homily delivered by the Pope and his words during the visit to the parish:

Dear brothers and sisters,

It is a source of great joy for me to be here and to experience with your community the gesture from which “Sunday” takes its name. It is “the Lord's Day” because the Risen Jesus comes among us, listens to us and speaks to us, nourishes us and sends us forth. Thus, in today’s Gospel, Jesus announces his “new law”: not only a teaching, but the strength to put it into practice. It is the grace of the Holy Spirit that writes indelibly in our hearts and brings to fulfilment the commandments of the old covenant (cf. Mt 5:17-37).

Through the Decalogue, after the exodus from Egypt, God had established a covenant with his people, offering them a plan for life and a path to salvation. The “Ten Words” are thus to be understood within the context of the journey of liberation, thanks to which a group of divided and oppressed tribes was transformed into a united and free people. Those commandments thus appear, in the long journey through the desert, as the light that shows the way; and their observance is understood and fulfilled not so much as a formal fulfilment of precepts, but as an act of love, of grateful and trusting correspondence to the Lord of the covenant. Therefore, the law given by God to his people is not in contrast with their freedom, but on the contrary is the condition for its flourishing.

Thus, the first Reading, taken from the book of Sirach (cf. 15, 16-21), and Psalm 118, with which we sang our response, invite us to see in the Lord’s commandments not an oppressive law, but his pedagogy for humanity seeking fullness of life and freedom.

In this regard, at the beginning of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, we find one of the most beautiful expressions of the Second Vatican Council, in which we can almost the beating of God’s heart through the heart of the Church. The Council says: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts” (Vatican Ecumenical Council II, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 1).

This prophecy of salvation is found in abundance in the preaching of Jesus, which begins on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, with the proclamation of the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:1-12), and continues by demonstrating the authentic and full sense of God’s law. The Lord says: “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire” (Mt 5:21-22). In this way, he indicates fidelity to God based on respect and on care for others in their inviolable sacredness as the way to human fulfilment, to be cultivated first and foremost in the heart, even before in deeds and words. Indeed, it is there that the most noble sentiments are born, but also the most painful profanations: closed-mindedness, envy, jealousy, so that those who think badly of their brother, harbouring evil feelings towards him, are as if they were already killing him in their hearts. It is no coincidence that Saint John says: “Any one who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 Jn 3:15).

How true are these words! And when we too happen to judge others and regard them with contempt, let us remember that the evil we see in the world has its roots right there, where the heart becomes cold, hard and lacking in mercy.

We experience this here too, in Ostia where, unfortunately, violence exists and causes harm, sometimes taking hold among young people and adolescents, perhaps fuelled by substance abuse; or perpetrated by criminal organizations, which exploit people by involving them in their crimes and pursue unjust interests through illegal and immoral means.

In the face of these phenomena, I invite you all, as a parish community, together with other virtuous organizations working in these neighbourhoods, to continue to give yourselves generously and courageously to spread the good seed of the Gospel in your streets and homes. Do not resign yourselves to the culture of abuse and injustice. On the contrary, spread respect and harmony, beginning with the disarming of language, and then investing energy and resources in education, especially for children and young people. Yes, may they learn honesty, hospitality and love that transcends boundaries in the parish; may they learn to help not only those who reciprocate and greet not only those who greet them, but to reach out to everyone freely and generously; may they learn consistency between faith and life, as Jesus teaches us when he says: ‘If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24).

May this, dear friends, be the goal of your efforts and activities, for the good of those near and far, so that even those who are slaves to evil may encounter, through you, the God of love, the only one who frees the heart and makes us truly happy.

Pope Benedict XV, a hundred and ten years ago, wanted this parish to be dedicated to Saint Mary Queen of Peace. He did so at the height of the first world war, thinking also of your community as a ray of light in the leaden sky of war. Unfortunately, with the passing of time, many clouds still darken the world, with the spread of ways of thinking contrary to the Gospel, which exalt the supremacy of the strongest, encourage arrogance and fuel the seduction of victory at any cost, deaf to the cries of those who suffer and those who are defenceless.

Let us oppose this trend with the disarming power of meekness, continuing to ask for peace and, welcoming and cultivating the gift, with tenacity and humility. Saint Augustine taught that “It is harder to praise peace than to possess her… If we wish to possess her, we can do so without the slightest effort” (Sermon 357, 1). And this is because our peace is Christ, which is won by letting ourselves be won over and transformed by Him, opening our hearts, and, with His grace, opening them to those whom He places on our path.

Do this too, dear sisters and dear brothers, day by day. Do it together, as a community, with the help of Mary, Queen of Peace. May She, Mother of God and our Mother, keep us and protect us always. Amen.