Pope Leo XIV addressed the faithful, emphasizing the importance of hope and confidence in life. The Pope highlighted the widespread lack of confidence in life, viewing it as a threat rather than an opportunity. He encouraged the faithful to embrace motherhood and fatherhood, despite societal challenges. Pope Leo XIV urged people to trust in God, emphasizing that life is not a fleeting experience but a gift.
20 days ago
Pope Leo XIV addressed a general audience on November 26, 2025, urging the faithful to cultivate confidence in life despite daily difficulties.1 He described a "widespread disease" of resignation, where life is viewed not as an opportunity but as a threat requiring protection from disappointment.1
The Pope acknowledged that hoping in life is not always easy, tracing this struggle back to humanity's origins.1 He encouraged viewing existence as a gift, filled with mystery and potential for growth.1
Leo XIV called for courage in generating life, particularly in embracing motherhood and fatherhood amid social and economic pressures.1 He specifically urged Polish pilgrims to make bold family decisions and to welcome and defend every conceived child.1
Life, he stressed, requires ongoing nourishment through care that sustains, energizes, and revives it.1 This message aligns with broader Church teachings on the sanctity of family and pro-life values.1
The Pontiff contrasted human frailties—such as jealousy, violence, wars, discrimination, and racism—with God's unwavering faithfulness.1 He portrayed God as a loving Father who created humanity for happiness and never tires of supporting it.1
Life is not "a parenthesis between two eternal nights," but a journey sustained by divine love, offering hope that energizes perseverance.1 This trust, Leo XIV affirmed, counters despair and fosters resilience.1
The audience occurred on the eve of Pope Leo XIV's first international trip, scheduled for Turkey and Lebanon from November 27 to December 2, 2025.1 He described these nations as rich in history and spirituality, requesting prayers from the gathered crowd.1
This journey underscores the Pope's commitment to global outreach, building on his message of hope in regions marked by cultural and spiritual depth.1
Investigate the Catholic teaching on confidence in life
In Catholic teaching, confidence in life emerges as a profound expression of the theological virtue of hope, which anchors the human spirit in trust toward God's merciful providence. This confidence is not mere optimism but a steadfast reliance on divine promises, enabling believers to embrace life's joys and trials with serenity. It views human existence—from conception to natural death—as sacred and purposeful, infused with God's creative love, and oriented toward eternal fulfillment. Drawing from Scripture, the Catechism, and papal exhortations, this teaching encourages us to trust in God's faithfulness amid suffering, to defend life's dignity boldly, and to live with an active hope that transforms personal and social realities.
At its core, Catholic doctrine presents hope as one of the three theological virtues—alongside faith and charity—instilled by God to draw us into divine life. The Catechism defines hope as the virtue by which "we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it." This "steadfast trust" is the essence of confidence in life: it is an unwavering assurance that God, who created us in His image, wills our ultimate good and equips us with the grace to persevere.
This trust extends to every circumstance, even adversity, as echoed in the prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus: it means "trusting God in every circumstance, even in adversity." Hope, therefore, is not passive resignation but an active orientation of the will toward eternal happiness, relying on Christ's promises and the Holy Spirit's aid to merit and sustain it until life's end. In this light, confidence in life becomes a dynamic force, countering despair by affirming that our earthly existence is a "talent" entrusted by God, to be cultivated for fruitful purpose and eternal reward.
Successive popes have illuminated this confidence as a daily sustenance, rooted in God's almighty love and fidelity. Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, emphasizes that "it is confidence that sustains us daily and will enable us to stand before the Lord on the day when he calls us to himself." Quoting the saint, he highlights appearing before God "with empty hands," clothed in divine justice rather than personal merits, underscoring a childlike trust in merciful love over self-reliance.
Pope John Paul I similarly teaches that such confidence arises from three truths: "God is almighty, God loves me immensely, God is faithful to promises." This trust dispels loneliness and futility, involving us in a "destiny of salvation" leading to paradise. Even for the sinner, it offers renewal: "repentant as you are, instead of thinking of the past, project yourself into the future and renew your life with God's help."
Echoing this, Pope Francis in a general audience urges: "Think; there, where God has planted you, hope! Always hope. Do not surrender to the night." He portrays the world as God's first miracle, calling us to believe in "the loftiest and most beautiful truths" and trust in Christ's welcoming embrace at life's end. Pope Paul VI adds that confidence converges faith and hope, enabling us to face earthly trials with "serenity of commitment" and "sovereign fearlessness." Likewise, Pope John Paul II describes trust as expanding "the lungs and gives wings to the heart," opposing anguish with reliance on Providence, culminating in Christ's words on the cross: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."
These teachings portray confidence as a spiritual buoyancy, kindled by the Holy Spirit's "groaning" within us—a mix of suffering and longing that voices trust in God's plan for "joy, love and peace."
Life's passage is marked by pain, as "the whole creation groans" (Rom 8:19-22), yet Christian optimism rests on hope's promise of resurrection and glory. This groaning—shared by creation, Christians, and the Spirit—expresses "apprehension and suffering, together with longing and desire," but it fosters reliance on God's "loving yet demanding presence." Pope Francis reinforces this by warning against "bitter, obscure thoughts," affirming that God plants hope in our hearts without crushing it through frustrations, as "everything is born to flourish in an eternal Spring."
In social dimensions, this confidence energizes commitment to build a better world, generating "confidence in the possibility of building a better world, even if there will never exist 'a paradise of earth.'" Christians, strong in faith and hope, are called to "make the most of the present" and await future glory patiently (cf. Rom 8:25), expressing hope through conversion and resistance to darkness (Eph 6:12). This moral conviction unites believers with people of good will, promoting unity and care for the vulnerable. Even Pope Leo XIII, amid 19th-century crises, urged confidence in prayer as the remedy against evils, recalling Christ's words: "Ask and it shall be given you" (Mt 7:7).
Catholic confidence in life profoundly intersects with the inviolable dignity of every human person, from womb to tomb. The Church teaches that "every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God." This sacredness demands bold defense against a "culture of death," as Pope John Paul II proclaimed: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).
In Evangelium Vitae and related documents, the Church reaffirms that life is "a great gift entrusted to us by God," making us its guardians, not proprietors. From conception, it bears God's creative action, remaining bonded to the Creator. Threats like abortion, euthanasia, and cloning are intrinsically evil, violating the foundational right to life, which underpins all others. As the U.S. Bishops' document states, treating the destruction of innocent life as mere choice is a "mistake with grave moral consequences," for a flawed legal system erodes respect for all dignity.
This confidence calls for prophetic witness: promoting life's Gospel not only within the Church but to society, through education, media, and care institutions. Pope John Paul II urged boldness against the "culture of death," noting young people's intuitive grasp of life's value. Even in death's shadow, life must be exalted, as "never as in proximity to death... must we celebrate and exalt life." The Declaration on Procured Abortion reinforces: "You shall not kill" (Ex 20:13), for life is precious, infused by the Creator and protected by Him. Introduced by sin, death finds no final victory in Christ's resurrection (1 Cor 15:20-27).
Pope Paul VI highlighted how rejecting life's value leads to insensitivity toward the needy, contempt for the elderly, and ethical distortions. Thus, confidence in life compels positive action: fostering rights to food, shelter, health, and work (Pacem in Terris, no. 11), while opposing racism, torture, and violence. As Pope John Paul II concluded to pro-life advocates: "In Christ, who died and rose again, man's cause has already had its definitive verdict: life will overcome death!"
Under Pope Leo XIV's recent message for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, this confidence renews us daily: "even if our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16). We are called to press forward in prayer and Eucharist, passing on lived faith, praising God, and opening hearts to the needy—thus becoming "signs of hope, whatever our age."
In summary, Catholic teaching on confidence in life weaves hope's virtue with trust in God's mercy, sustaining us through trials and impelling defense of human dignity. It transforms existence into a hopeful journey toward eternity, urging daily renewal and societal solidarity. By embracing this, we align with the Church's mission, finding serenity in divine providence and purpose in every breath.