Pope Leo XIV says Begin with "the Eucharist, the beating heart of every Christian community" - "God wants us all to be peacemakers in the world" in FULL Homily
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Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass on a visit to the Church of Santa Maria della Presentación, Rome. Concelebrating were Cardinal Baldo Reina, the Pontiff's vicar for the diocese of Rome, the parish priest Don Paolo Stacchiotti, and the other priests who animate the life of Santa Maria della Presentación in Torrevecchia, Don Jokens Antony and Don Richard Kenneth.
PASTORAL VISIT - HOLY MASS
FULL TEXT HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Parish of "S. Maria della Presentación" (Rome)
Third Sunday of Lent, March 8, 2026
______________________________
Dearest brothers and sisters!
I am happy to be among you this third Sunday of Lent. It is an important step in our following of Jesus, leading up to his Easter of passion, death, and resurrection.
In this journey, God's closeness and our life of faith are profoundly intertwined: by renewing the grace of Baptism in each of us, the Lord calls us to conversion, even as he purifies our hearts with his love and the works of charity he invites us to perform. In this regard, the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman deeply engages us. Today's Gospel, in fact, not only speaks to us, but also speaks about us and helps us rethink our relationship with God.
The Samaritan woman's thirst for life and love is our thirst: that of the Church and of all humanity, wounded by sin but even more intimately inhabited by the desire for God. We seek Him like water, even when we don't realize it, every time we question the meaning of events, every time we feel how much we lack the good we desire for ourselves and for those around us.
In this quest, we encounter Jesus. He is already there, at the well, where the Samaritan woman finds him alone, under the midday sun, weary from his journey. The woman goes to the well at that unusual hour, perhaps to avoid the prejudiced glances of the other women. Jesus reads in her heart the reason for this marginalization: her failed marriages and her current cohabitation make her unworthy of being with the daughters, wives, and mothers of the village. Yet, Jesus sits by the well as if waiting for her. This surprising encounter is one of the ways in which, as Pope Francis loved to repeat, Christ reveals the God of surprises: the most beautiful, the life-changing ones, wherever they meet her and however she presents herself before the Lord.
This man loves the Samaritan woman like no one else had. While she was searching for her daily water, he wanted to give her new, living water, capable of quenching every thirst and calming every anxiety, because this water flows from the heart of God, the inexhaustible fullness of every longing.
Jesus' initiative thus inaugurates the search for a good greater than water itself: "If you knew the gift of God," the Lord says to the woman. It is not a reproach, but a promise: "I am here to introduce you to God, who gives himself to you." Yes, precisely for you, who did not know him, who thought yourself distant and condemned. This gift will transform you: you yourself will become a spring welling up to eternal life. In exchange for the former thirst, filled with bitterness and spiritual aridity, the Son of God offers the gift of life renewed by the water that flows from the Father's mercy. Everything is transformed in the encounter with the Lord: the thirsty woman becomes a spring, the outcast becomes confident. The woman filled with shame is now filled with joy; she who remained silent in the village becomes a missionary for all its inhabitants.
She would never have imagined that she, so disoriented and defeated by life, would one day taste fresh water, a pure gift from God, becoming in turn a gift for others. How does this happen? By encountering Jesus, by conversing with Him, the living Word of God made man for our salvation.
The Gospel narrative carefully depicts the woman's journey of growth, as she gradually recognizes the fundamental characteristics of Jesus' identity: man, prophet, Messiah, and Savior. Standing beside Him and enjoying His company, the Samaritan woman becomes a source of truth herself. The new water of God's gift has begun to well up in her heart, and she immediately feels compelled to run back to her village, finally free from shame and eager to make her Liberator known to all, Jesus, the One who made all that wonder possible. She runs to the very person who once condemned her, even as God has forgiven her, and she tells, proclaims, and bears witness. The need for water, which had driven her to the well, now gives way to the desire to share the overwhelming newness that has transformed her.
Dearest ones, through Baptism we all received the grace of new water, which washes away all sin and quenches every thirst. Like the Samaritan woman, so today in Lent we are given a time to rediscover the gift of this Sacrament, which, like a door, has introduced us to the faith and Christian life. As a good and caring Shepherd, the Lord awaits us and always accompanies us, wherever we live and as we are. He mercifully heals our wounds and becomes a gift to us, enabling us in turn to become a gift to our brothers and sisters.
I know well that your parish community lives in a region with diverse challenges. There is no shortage of worrying situations of marginalization, material and moral poverty. Even adolescents and young people risk growing up deceived by the dealers of death or disillusioned about the future. Many are waiting for a home, a job that ensures a dignified life, safe environments where they can meet, play, and plan something beautiful together.
As at the well of the Gospel, men and women come to this parish wounded in spirit, offended in their dignity, and thirsting for hope. Yours is the urgent and liberating task of demonstrating Jesus' closeness, his desire to redeem our existence from the evils that threaten it with a proposal for a just, true, and fulfilling life. Beginning with the Eucharist, the beating heart of every Christian community, I encourage you to ensure that parish activities are a sign of a Church that—like a mother—cares for her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them, and supporting them in the face of danger. May the word of the Gospel, which wells up within us as a source of truth, help each of us to open our eyes, to be able to wisely evaluate what is good and what is evil, thus forming free and adult consciences.
Dear brothers and sisters, move forward with confidence! In every situation, the Lord walks with us and supports us along the way. May the Most Holy Virgin always accompany your steps in faith, and grant you the joy of being humble and courageous heralds of her Gospel.
____________________________
Final greeting from the Holy Father
Many thanks to everyone! So, one last word, above all to thank the Lord and also to thank all of you and this beautiful parish. We should experience a meeting like this every Sunday! And I would like to invite you—as so many of you have come today!—that every Sunday be an encounter with the Lord, with this same enthusiasm, with the happiness, with the joy of knowing that God loves us, God is with us, God wants us all to be peacemakers in the world.
So, with the Lord's blessing, I leave you, encouraging you to always live your faith, and to always be this witness of God's closeness in our lives.
Blessing
Good evening everyone! Thank you very much!
FULL TEXT HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Parish of "S. Maria della Presentación" (Rome)
Third Sunday of Lent, March 8, 2026
______________________________
Dearest brothers and sisters!
I am happy to be among you this third Sunday of Lent. It is an important step in our following of Jesus, leading up to his Easter of passion, death, and resurrection.
In this journey, God's closeness and our life of faith are profoundly intertwined: by renewing the grace of Baptism in each of us, the Lord calls us to conversion, even as he purifies our hearts with his love and the works of charity he invites us to perform. In this regard, the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman deeply engages us. Today's Gospel, in fact, not only speaks to us, but also speaks about us and helps us rethink our relationship with God.
The Samaritan woman's thirst for life and love is our thirst: that of the Church and of all humanity, wounded by sin but even more intimately inhabited by the desire for God. We seek Him like water, even when we don't realize it, every time we question the meaning of events, every time we feel how much we lack the good we desire for ourselves and for those around us.
In this quest, we encounter Jesus. He is already there, at the well, where the Samaritan woman finds him alone, under the midday sun, weary from his journey. The woman goes to the well at that unusual hour, perhaps to avoid the prejudiced glances of the other women. Jesus reads in her heart the reason for this marginalization: her failed marriages and her current cohabitation make her unworthy of being with the daughters, wives, and mothers of the village. Yet, Jesus sits by the well as if waiting for her. This surprising encounter is one of the ways in which, as Pope Francis loved to repeat, Christ reveals the God of surprises: the most beautiful, the life-changing ones, wherever they meet her and however she presents herself before the Lord.
This man loves the Samaritan woman like no one else had. While she was searching for her daily water, he wanted to give her new, living water, capable of quenching every thirst and calming every anxiety, because this water flows from the heart of God, the inexhaustible fullness of every longing.
Jesus' initiative thus inaugurates the search for a good greater than water itself: "If you knew the gift of God," the Lord says to the woman. It is not a reproach, but a promise: "I am here to introduce you to God, who gives himself to you." Yes, precisely for you, who did not know him, who thought yourself distant and condemned. This gift will transform you: you yourself will become a spring welling up to eternal life. In exchange for the former thirst, filled with bitterness and spiritual aridity, the Son of God offers the gift of life renewed by the water that flows from the Father's mercy. Everything is transformed in the encounter with the Lord: the thirsty woman becomes a spring, the outcast becomes confident. The woman filled with shame is now filled with joy; she who remained silent in the village becomes a missionary for all its inhabitants.
She would never have imagined that she, so disoriented and defeated by life, would one day taste fresh water, a pure gift from God, becoming in turn a gift for others. How does this happen? By encountering Jesus, by conversing with Him, the living Word of God made man for our salvation.
The Gospel narrative carefully depicts the woman's journey of growth, as she gradually recognizes the fundamental characteristics of Jesus' identity: man, prophet, Messiah, and Savior. Standing beside Him and enjoying His company, the Samaritan woman becomes a source of truth herself. The new water of God's gift has begun to well up in her heart, and she immediately feels compelled to run back to her village, finally free from shame and eager to make her Liberator known to all, Jesus, the One who made all that wonder possible. She runs to the very person who once condemned her, even as God has forgiven her, and she tells, proclaims, and bears witness. The need for water, which had driven her to the well, now gives way to the desire to share the overwhelming newness that has transformed her.
Dearest ones, through Baptism we all received the grace of new water, which washes away all sin and quenches every thirst. Like the Samaritan woman, so today in Lent we are given a time to rediscover the gift of this Sacrament, which, like a door, has introduced us to the faith and Christian life. As a good and caring Shepherd, the Lord awaits us and always accompanies us, wherever we live and as we are. He mercifully heals our wounds and becomes a gift to us, enabling us in turn to become a gift to our brothers and sisters.
I know well that your parish community lives in a region with diverse challenges. There is no shortage of worrying situations of marginalization, material and moral poverty. Even adolescents and young people risk growing up deceived by the dealers of death or disillusioned about the future. Many are waiting for a home, a job that ensures a dignified life, safe environments where they can meet, play, and plan something beautiful together.
As at the well of the Gospel, men and women come to this parish wounded in spirit, offended in their dignity, and thirsting for hope. Yours is the urgent and liberating task of demonstrating Jesus' closeness, his desire to redeem our existence from the evils that threaten it with a proposal for a just, true, and fulfilling life. Beginning with the Eucharist, the beating heart of every Christian community, I encourage you to ensure that parish activities are a sign of a Church that—like a mother—cares for her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them, and supporting them in the face of danger. May the word of the Gospel, which wells up within us as a source of truth, help each of us to open our eyes, to be able to wisely evaluate what is good and what is evil, thus forming free and adult consciences.
Dear brothers and sisters, move forward with confidence! In every situation, the Lord walks with us and supports us along the way. May the Most Holy Virgin always accompany your steps in faith, and grant you the joy of being humble and courageous heralds of her Gospel.
____________________________
Final greeting from the Holy Father
Many thanks to everyone! So, one last word, above all to thank the Lord and also to thank all of you and this beautiful parish. We should experience a meeting like this every Sunday! And I would like to invite you—as so many of you have come today!—that every Sunday be an encounter with the Lord, with this same enthusiasm, with the happiness, with the joy of knowing that God loves us, God is with us, God wants us all to be peacemakers in the world.
So, with the Lord's blessing, I leave you, encouraging you to always live your faith, and to always be this witness of God's closeness in our lives.
Blessing
Good evening everyone! Thank you very much!
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