Pope Leo XIV emphasized that life is a journey requiring trust in Jesus, even when facing the unknown. The Pope delivered a homily during a Mass at a Rome parish on the second Sunday of Lent, March 1, 2026. He stated that moments of uncertainty or 'dizzying vertigo' are where believers find God's promise of unexpected greatness. The visit took place in the Quarticciolo neighborhood, which has seen rising crime but also strong community efforts for job creation and solidarity. The Pope encouraged the parishioners, telling them they are 'signs of hope' in the face of complex local problems.
6 days ago
Pope Leo XIV visited the Church of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Rome's Quarticciolo neighborhood on March 1, 2026, during the second Sunday of Lent.1
This working-class area faces rising crime and drug-dealing, yet the parish promotes job opportunities and solidarity initiatives.1
Life is a journey demanding trust in Jesus, who may call disciples to abandon everything for unexpected greatness.1
Pope Leo urged embracing the "dizzying vertigo" of the unknown to discover God's hidden treasure, rather than seeking total control.1
Addressing parishioners, the pope called them "signs of hope" amid complex problems and the "mystery of evil."1
Christians must witness the Kingdom of God through faith's transformative gaze, fostering passion, sharing, and creativity.1
Drawing from Abraham's journey from loss to blessing, the pope highlighted growth in irreplaceable wealth through faith.1
He pointed to Jesus' Eucharistic gesture of self-offering as a model for living to give life, encouraging perseverance.1
Pope Leo met children, youth from the Jesuits’ MAGIS program, vulnerable elderly, the ill, and families affected by drug-related incarcerations.1
He received a soccer ball, jersey, and icon; this marks the third papal visit to the Dehonians-run church, after St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II.1
Christians should embody hope amid evil’s mystery
Christians are called to embody hope as a theological virtue that sustains them amid the profound mystery of evil, trusting in God's redemptive love which transforms suffering and sin into pathways to eternal life.
Hope is not mere optimism but one of the three theological virtues—faith, hope, and charity—infused by God into the soul, enabling participation in the divine nature and meriting eternal life. As Pope Benedict XVI explains in Spe Salvi:
“SPE SALVI facti sumus”—in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans... Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal.
This great hope surpasses lesser, earthly hopes and is anchored in God alone, "who encompasses the whole of reality," particularly the God revealed in Christ, whose love guarantees a "truly" life beyond our efforts. St. Thomas Aquinas further clarifies hope as an irascible passion directed toward a future good that is difficult but possible to obtain, contrasting it with despair (turning away from the arduous good) and distinguishing it from fear, which concerns arduous evil.
In Scripture, this hope equips believers: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer" (Rom 12:12), and it serves as "the helmet of the hope of salvation" (1 Thess 5:8).
The existence of evil—moral sin, natural suffering, violence, and war—poses a deep mystery, yet Christian hope pierces it without denial. Pope Benedict XVI addresses this directly:
[Our daily efforts] either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance... Only the great certitude of hope that my own life and history in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of Love... can then give the courage to act and to persevere.
Evil, including sin, is not easily avoided, but as Aquinas notes, the evil of sin properly speaking is not an object of fear because it arises from our own will; rather, we fear extrinsic influences leading to sin, prompting vigilance rather than despair. Psalm 23 poetically embodies this: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me" (Ps 23:4), affirming God's presence amid peril.
Recent papal teaching echoes this. Pope Leo XIV, addressing cinema professionals during the Jubilee Year, praised artists as "pilgrims of the imagination" who discern "hope in the tragedy of violence and war," navigating "beauty even in the depths of pain." To an ecumenical delegation, he urged Christians as "messengers of hope" to bring Christ's light "into the darkest corners," rooted in baptismal unity and unending hope.
Christians embody hope not passively but in serious and upright human conduct, striving for a humane world while relying on God's Kingdom as a gift, not human achievement. Hope animates moral virtues, works through charity, and fosters perseverance. Aquinas links hope to daring against arduous evil, balancing fear to pursue good.
This embodiment counters evil's mystery by witnessing to Love's indestructibility, avoiding fanaticism or hopelessness. As St. Paul integrates it with faith and love: "put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thess 5:8).
Amid interpersonal evil, forgiveness manifests hope, opening hearts to mercy. The Catechism stresses:
Now—and this is daunting—this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us... In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed.
Jesus emphasizes: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Mt 6:12), requiring imitation of divine mercy from within, empowered by the Spirit. This unity of love overcomes evil's divisiveness, embodying hope in relational healing.
| Aspect of Evil | Christian Hope's Response | Key Source |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Sin | Vigilance against extrinsic causes; trust in God's power | Summa Theologiae I-II, Q.42, A.3 |
| Suffering & Arduous Present | Patience, perseverance in prayer | Romans 12:12; Spe Salvi 35 |
| Violence/War | Discerning beauty, narrating hope | Pope Leo XIV, Encounter with Cinema |
| Offenses Against Us | Forgiveness mirroring God's mercy | CCC 2840-2842 |
In summary, Catholic teaching unequivocally affirms that Christians must embody hope amid evil's mystery through theological virtue, scriptural trust, virtuous action, and forgiving love—sustained by Christ's redemptive promise, as illuminated across encyclicals, catechism, Scripture, and recent pontifical addresses.