At Vespers in Montevideo, Pope Leo XIV invites Uruguay’s Bishops, clergy, and religious to return constantly to Jesus Christ, launching an appeal for the universal Church to pray and fast for vocations.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Faithfulness to our vocation calls us to return again and again to Jesus Christ; to let Him be our treasure, the one whom we wish to resemble.”
Pope Leo XIV expressed this hope during Vespers with Bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and seminarians at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Saints Philip and James in Uruguay’s capital of Montevideo.
The event marked one of the first appointments of his 12-day Apostolic Journey to Latin America.
Joy for generous responses to Christ’s love
The Pope recalled that several young people present have already begun their journey in the seminary and in consecrated life.
“What a joy it is to know that generous responses to Christ’s love continue to come forth!” he said, encouraging them to persevere. “See in these fruits the proof that God hears the prayers of His people.”
The Pope expressed his hope that this experience in Uruguay will echo throughout the entire Church.
Appeal for Church to pray and fast for vocations
From the Cathedral in Montevideo, the Pope invited his brother Bishops throughout the world “to promote days of prayer and fasting in their dioceses for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life.”
The Pope invited Bishops around the world “to promote days of prayer and fasting in their dioceses for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life.” (VATICAN MEDIA)
He asked that parishes, families and religious communities join in this prayer.
The Holy Father urged seminarians and novices to look to those who have already been walking on the path of self-giving. “See their worn hands, their persevering love and their way of relating to Jesus. Learn from them that intimacy with the Lord.”
Similarly, he asked those who have spent many years in ministry or in consecrated life to always return to what is essential.
Be guided by the Lord
“Cherish the silence of prayer, listening to the word and encountering Christ in the Eucharist,” Pope Leo said. “In that intimacy, the love that led you to give your lives to Him is renewed, and your hearts come to take on the traits of His heart.”
The Pope urged Uruguay’s clergy and religious always to let themselves be guided by Him and to do everything united in the bond of love, especially amid trials.
Even when many kilometers separate them, Pope Leo acknowledged, they should still “support one another and always remain in communion with the Successor of Peter, who also needs the support of your prayers.”
Called to return again and again to Jesus Christ
In his reflection, the Pope reminded those present that through Baptism, Christ makes us sharers in His life and invites us to grow in His likeness, so that we learn to see, to listen and to love as He does.
For this reason, Pope Leo insisted that those who have entrusted their lives to the Lord must seriously ask themselves where their hearts are, warning against letting distractions divert their focus from where it ought to be.
The Pope recalled that Jesus looked up at Zacchaeus, hidden among the branches of a tree, stressing that this merciful glance is the nature of our God.
“Through the life of Jesus,” the Pope said, “we have come to know how He looks upon us and how much He loves us.”
‘Through you, Christ seeks to reach so many with His love’
The Pope reassured those before him that, through them, Christ has sought to reach many people with His love, and praised those whose hands “have grown old doing good!”
Pope Leo urged everyone present to persevere in love, even in the midst of trials (VATICAN MEDIA)
Pope Leo marveled that the Lord brings about a “transformation” in those who remain close to Him, even when faith is tested.
“Our likeness to Christ also matures in the midst of difficulties, such as when work seems fruitless, when our strength wanes or when we must start anew,” he said, observing that “eventually, endurance leaves its mark.”
With Christ, we can endure and surpass trials
“May trials,” Pope Leo said, “always find us united to Jesus, so that they may help us to grow in His love.”
The Pope went on to recall that beneath the vaults of the cathedral rests the body of Blessed Jacinto Vera.
“In that tomb, in the hope of the Resurrection,” Pope Leo recalled, “are the feet that traveled the roads of Uruguay to bring the Gospel to his people; the hands that blessed, helped the poor and administered the sacraments; the ears that listened to countless confessions; and the eyes that noticed those in need of help.”
Stressing that his relationship with God had shaped Blessed Jacinto Vera’s face, gestures and way he related to others, the Pope underscored that those who approached him “encountered something of Christ’s goodness, even before hearing a word of his preaching.”
Resembling the One we proclaim
The Pope stressed that one of the secrets of evangelization is to resemble the One whom we proclaim.
“In this land, where many of our contemporaries barely know Jesus Christ and so many young people have grown up far from the life of the Church,” he said, “that witness has a special power.”
The Pope expressed his hope that when Christians speak to others of Jesus, they may discover the Lord’s goodness.
Finally, the Holy Father concluded by praying that Our Lady of the Thirty-Three “help us to keep our hearts close to her Son, so that when the time comes to close our eyes, we may hear the Lord’s voice calling us by name and confidently abandon ourselves into His hands.”
