Pope Leo XIV Tells Religious "his disciples become instruments of God's plan of salvation for all people" FULL TEXT

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS LEO XIV
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING OF
LATIN AMERICAN PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS SISTERS, RELIGIOUS MEN AND SEMINARIANS STUDYING IN ROME
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Dear brothers and sisters:

When Jesus Christ called his disciples, he almost invariably used the words “follow me.” In that brief phrase, we can find the deepest purpose of our lives, whether as seminarians, priests, or members of the consecrated life.

If we reread the Gospel texts of the calling, the first thing we notice is the Lord's absolute initiative. He calls them, without any prior merit on their part (cf. Mt 9:9; Jn 1:43), and rather with the intention that the vocation to which he calls them will be an opportunity to bring the Gospel message to sinners and the weak (cf. Mt 9:12-13). In this way, his disciples become instruments of God's plan of salvation for all people (cf. Jn 1:48).

At the same time, the Gospel urges us to be aware of the commitment involved in responding to this vocation. It speaks of certain demands that we can identify in the failed call of the rich young man ( Mt 19:21): the demand for the absolute primacy of God, the only good one (v. 17); the imperative need for theoretical and practical knowledge of divine law (vv. 18-19); and the demand for detachment from all human security, with the consequent offering of all that we are and all that we have (v. 21).

St. Ambrose, in his exegesis of the surprising passage of the young man whom Jesus does not allow to bury his father ( Lk 9:59), assumes that in this demand to leave everything—even things just in themselves—the Lord does not intend to evade natural duties, sanctioned by God's law, but rather to open our eyes to a new life. In this new life, nothing can be placed before God, not even what we had previously known as good, and it entails death to sin and to the old worldly self. All of this is "so that we may be one with Almighty God, and be able to see his only begotten Son" ( Treatise on the Gospel of St. Luke , 40).

For Ambrose, this indispensable union with Jesus, far from separating us from our brothers and sisters, leads to communion with others. We do not walk in solitude; we are part of a community. We are not bound by ties of sympathy, shared interests, or mutual convenience, but by belonging to the people whom the Lord purchased at the price of his Blood (cf. 1 Pet 1:18-19). Our union tends toward an eschatological value that will be realized when we imitate “the unity of eternal peace with an unbreakable concord of souls and in an endless covenant” and fulfill “what the Son of God promised us when he raised this prayer to his Father: ‘That they may all be one, as we are one’ ( Jn 17:21)” ( Treatise on the Gospel of St. Luke , 40).

Finally, in the Gospel of John, Jesus repeats the words “follow me” to the apostle Peter twice. He does so in a very different context, the Resurrection, right after Peter’s threefold confession of love in reparation for his sin. Even after confessing his love, the apostle did not fully understand the mystery of the cross, but the Lord already had in mind the sacrifice with which Peter would give glory to God and repeats to him: “Follow me” ( Jn 21:19). When, throughout life, our vision becomes clouded, as it was Peter’s, in the midst of the night or through the storms ( Mt 14:25, 31), it will be the voice of Jesus that lovingly and patiently sustains us.

The second time Jesus says to Peter, “Follow me,” he assures us that the Lord knows our weakness, and that often it is not the cross imposed upon us, but our own selfishness, that becomes a stumbling block in our desire to follow him. The dialogue with the apostle shows us how easily we judge our brother and even God, without readily accepting his will in our lives. Here too the Lord constantly repeats to us: “What is that to you? You follow me” ( Jn 21:22).

Brothers and sisters, since we live in a society of confusing noise, today more than ever we need servants and disciples who proclaim the absolute primacy of Christ and who hear his voice clearly in their ears and hearts. This theoretical and practical knowledge of divine Law is attained above all through reading the Sacred Scriptures, meditating in the silence of deep prayer, reverently heeding the voice of legitimate pastors, and attentively studying the many treasures of wisdom that the Church offers us.

In the midst of joys and in the midst of difficulties, our motto must be: if Christ went through this, it is also our duty to live what He lived. We must not cling to applause because its echo is fleeting; nor is it healthy to dwell only on the memory of the day of crisis or the times of bitter disappointment. Rather, let us see that all of this is part of our formation and say: if God has willed it for me, I will it too (cf. Ps 40:8). The profound bond that unites us with Christ, whether as priests, consecrated persons, or seminarians, is similar to what is said to Christian spouses on their wedding day: “in sickness and in health, in wealth and in poverty” ( Rite of Marriage , 66).

May the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of the true God for whom we live, teach us to respond with courage, keeping in our hearts the wonders Christ has worked in us, so that we may, without delay, go and proclaim the joy of having found Him, of being one in the One, and living stones of a temple for His glory. May the Blessed Virgin Mary watch over your time in Rome and intercede for you, so that all you absorb in Rome may be fruitful in your mission. God bless you.

Vatican City, December 9, 2025. Memorial of Saint Juan Diego

LEÓN PP. XIV
Source: Translation from Vatican.va Bulletin with Vatican Media Image from the General Audience on Dec. 10