Pope Leo XIV prays the Angelus with the faithful in Castel Gandolfo, and reminds Christians that we gain eternal life by caring for others in service and love, not by cheating death.

By Devin Watkins

As his summer holidays continue in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV joined pilgrims who came out to the hilltop town near Rome in praying the traditional Marian prayer of the Angelus.

In his address to those gathered in Freedom Square, the Pope reflected on the question put to Jesus in the Gospel: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The Holy Father recognized that the man’s question expresses a deep desire of the human heart, which is “for an existence free from failure, evil, and death.”

He noted that we can never gain eternal life by force or negotiate to obtain it, but rather we must inherit it.

“Eternal life, which God alone can give, is bestowed on us as an inheritance, as parents do with their children,” he said.

For this reason, said Pope Leo, Jesus says we must do God’s will, which means loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourself.

“When we do these two things, we respond to the Father’s love,” he said. “God’s will is the law of life that the Father Himself was the first to follow, by loving us unconditionally in His Son, Jesus.”

Read also 13/07/2025 Pope at Mass in Castel Gandolfo: Let us imitate Christ, the Good Samaritan Pope Leo XIV celebrates Sunday Mass at the Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo, and recalls that we are to look to the Lord, the Good Samaritan, and reminds that …

The Pope urged Christians to look to Jesus for the meaning of authentic love, saying that love is generous, forgiving, and expansive, never leaving us closed in on ourselves.

Just as God drew near to humanity in Jesus Christ, so too are we called to care for those around us.

“Imitating the example of Jesus, the Saviour of the world,” he said, “we too are called to bring consolation and hope, above all to those who are experiencing discouragement and disappointment.”

Pope Leo XIV concluded his Angelus reflection by recalling that the supreme commandment to love God and our neighbor supersedes all human laws and gives them their true meaning.

“In order to live eternally, we do not need to cheat death, but to serve life, by caring for others in this, our time together.”

In seeking to serve life, said the Pope, we become “artisans of peace in our daily lives.”

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Pope Leo XIV celebrates Sunday Mass at the Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo, and recalls that we are to look to the Lord, the Good Samaritan, and reminds that when we experience God’s love and healing, we are able to offer the same consolation to others we encounter.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“Once we are healed and loved by Christ, we too can become witnesses of His love and compassion in our world.”

Pope Leo XIV gave this comforting reminder during Mass at the papal parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo, where he is staying for his summer vacation, as he reflected on the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Read also 12/07/2025 Parish of Castel Gandolfo joyful ahead of Pope Leo’s Mass Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit and celebration of Mass on Sunday, the parish priest of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo shares the excitement and faith of his …

The Pope began by expressing his joy of celebrating this Eucharist with them, greeting all those present.

He then recalled how in this Sunday’s Gospel according to St. Luke, “we hear one of Jesus’ most beautiful and moving parables,” that of the Good Samaritan, a parable that he acknowledged “constantly challenges us to think about our own lives,” “troubles our dormant or distracted consciences,” and “warns us about the risk of a complacent faith that is satisfied with the outward observance of the law but incapable of feeling and acting with the same merciful compassion as God.”

How we look at others is what counts

The parable, Pope Leo said, is really about compassion, telling the faithful, “how we look at others is what counts, because it shows what is in our hearts.”

“We can look and walk by, or we can look and be moved with compassion,” he said, recalling that the parable speaks to us first about God’s way of seeing us, “so that we in turn can learn how to see situations and people with his eyes, so full of love and compassion.”

The Good Samaritan, he recalled, is really a figure of Jesus, “the eternal Son whom the Father sent into our history precisely because he regarded humanity with compassion and did not walk by.”

“Like the man in the Gospel who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, humanity was descending to the depths of death,” Pope Leo said, observing, “In our own day too, we have to confront the darkness of evil, suffering, poverty and the riddle of death.”

Healing wounds with His love and mercy

Yet, the Holy Father reassured, “God has looked upon us with compassion; he wanted to walk our same path and come down among us. In Jesus, the Good Samaritan, he came to heal our wounds and to pour out upon us the balm of his love and mercy.”

He recalled how the late Pope Francis often reminded us that God is mercy and compassion, once referred to Jesus as “the compassion of the Father toward us,” and Saint Augustine explained that, as the Good Samaritan who came to our aid, Jesus “wanted to be known as our neighbor. Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ makes us realize that he is the one who cared for the half-dead man beaten by robbers and left on the side of the road.”

“We can understand why this parable is so challenging for each of us,” he recognized. “If Christ shows us the face of a compassionate God, then to believe in Him and to be His disciples means allowing ourselves to be changed and to take on his same feelings.”

Having a heart that is moved

The Pope said this means learning to have a heart that is moved, eyes that see and do not look away, hands that help others and soothe their wounds, shoulders that bear the burden of those in need.

“If we realize deep down that Christ, the Good Samaritan, loves us and cares for us,” he said, “we too will be moved to love in the same way and to become compassionate as He is.”

“Once we are healed and loved by Christ,” Pope Leo continued, “we too can become witnesses of His love and compassion in our world.”

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Castel Gandolfo (@Vatican Media)

‘Revolution of love’

With this in mind, Pope Leo insisted, “today we need this ‘revolution of love.'”

The Pope suggested that today, the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho is the road traveled by all those who descend into sin, suffering and poverty.

“It is the road,” he said, “travelled by all those weighed down by troubles or hurt by life…,” “by all who fall down, lose their bearings and hit rock bottom…,” “by all those peoples that are stripped, robbed and pillaged, victims of tyrannical political systems, of an economy that forces them into poverty, and of wars that kill their dreams and their very lives.”

‘What can we do?’

Thus, the Holy Father asked, “What do we do?”

“Do we look and walk by, or do we open our hearts to others, like the Samaritan? Are we content at times merely to do our duty, or to regard as our neighbor only those who are part of our group, who think like us, who share our same nationality or religion?”

He then recalled that “Jesus overturns this way of thinking by presenting us with a Samaritan, a foreigner or heretic, who acts as a neighbor to that wounded man,” “and He asks us to do the same.”

Benedict: ‘Jesus turns whole matter on its head’

The Samaritan, wrote Benedict XVI in Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Leo quoted, “‘does not ask how far his obligations of solidarity extend. Nor does he ask about the merits required for eternal life. Something else happens: his heart is wrenched open… If the question had been, ‘Is the Samaritan my neighbor, too?’ the answer would have been a pretty clear-cut no, given the situation at the time.’

“‘But Jesus,'” Pope Benedict writes, “‘now turns the whole matter on its head: the Samaritan, the foreigner, makes himself the neighbor and shows me that I have to learn to be a neighbor deep within and that I already have the answer in myself. I have to become like someone in love, someone whose heart is open to being shaken up by another’s need.'”

Let us imitate Christ

“Looking without walking by, halting the frantic pace of our lives, allowing the lives of others, whoever they may be, with their needs and troubles, to touch our heart,” the Holy Father reasoned, “is what makes us neighbors to one another, what generates true fraternity and breaks down walls and barriers. In the end, love prevails and proves more powerful than evil and death.”

Finally, Pope Leo XIV gave this invitation: “Let us look to Christ, the Good Samaritan. Let us listen again today to His voice. For He says to each of us, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Castel Gandolfo (@Vatican Media)

Holy Mass, 13 July 2025 – Pope Leo XIV

The Angelus Prayer

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, etc…

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

Be it done unto me according to Your Word.

Hail Mary, etc…

And the Word was made Flesh.

And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, etc…

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord,

Your Grace into our hearts;

that as we have known the incarnation of Christ,

Your Son by the message of an angel,

so by His Passion and Cross

we may be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.

Through the same Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.

Glory be, etc… (3 times)

Eternal rest…

Apostolic Blessing

The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Now and forever.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Who has made Heaven and Earth.

May Almighty God bless you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.