Long before he became Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost shared some personal thoughts and insights:
” Brothers, sisters…
I speak to you, especially to those who no longer believe, no longer hope, no longer pray, because they think God has left.
To those who are fed up with scandals, with misused power, with the silence of a Church that sometimes seems more like a palace than a home.
I, too, was angry with God.
I, too, saw good people die, children suffer, grandparents cry without medicine.
And yes… there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo.
But then I discovered something:
God doesn’t shout. God whispers.
And sometimes He whispers from the mud, from pain, from a grandmother who feeds you without having anything.
I don’t come to offer you perfect faith.
I come to tell you that faith is a walk with stones, puddles, and unexpected hugs.
I’m not asking you to believe in everything.
I’m asking you not to close the door. Give a chance to the God who waits for you without judgment.
I’m just a priest who saw God in the smile of a woman who lost her son… and yet she cooked for others.
That changed me.
So if you’re broken, if you don’t believe, if you’re tired of the lies…
come anyway. With your anger, your doubt, your dirty backpack.
No one here will ask you for a VIP card.
Because this Church, as long as I breathe, will be a home for the homeless, and a rest for the weary.
God doesn’t need soldiers.
He needs brothers and sisters.
And you, yes, you…
are one of them.”
Robert Prevost (Leo XIV)
Do continue to pray for Pope Leo so that the Holy Spirit will work through him to bring peace and unity to our world, our country and our church. Pope Leo has a Big Job to do.
THE POOREST PERSON ON EARTH WHO IS FRIENDS WITH GOD IS RICHER THAN THE RICHEST PERSON WHO IS NOT FRIENDS WITH GOD!
My Commentary:
Before Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, he offered us a window into his heart — a heart that has wrestled with anger, doubt, sorrow, and the painful silences of God. His honesty makes his words all the more powerful. He does not speak from a place of perfection, but from a place of experience — from the mud, the puddles, and the tears of life.
Many people today feel far from God. They are weary of injustice, scandal, and suffering. They feel abandoned in their prayers and see too much pain in the world to believe in a loving God. Pope Leo does not dismiss these feelings. Instead, he acknowledges them with compassion, showing us that faith is not the absence of struggle, but the willingness to keep walking with God even when the road is hard.
He reminds us that God rarely shouts; rather, God whispers — in the grandmother who gives from her emptiness, in the mother who serves through her grief, in quiet moments when love overcomes despair. In these whispers, God gently calls us back to Himself.
Pope Leo’s words are a call to all of us: to those who have lost faith, to those angry at the Church, to those burdened with life’s hardships. He invites us to simply come, as we are — with our anger, doubts, brokenness, and sin. The Church, as he envisions it, is not an exclusive palace for the perfect but a home for the weary, a shelter for the wounded, and a family for all God’s children.
The closing reminder is profound: “The poorest person on earth who is friends with God is richer than the richest person who is not friends with God.”
It is not wealth, status, or even perfect faith that makes us rich — it is our relationship with God. And that relationship remains open to each one of us, no matter where we are on our journey.
My Prayer Reflection:
Loving Father,
You know the doubts and burdens that we carry. You see our anger, our confusion, and our pain. And yet, You continue to whisper Your love into our hearts. Even when we are far from You, You draw near with tenderness and mercy.
Thank You for the example of Pope Leo, for his honesty, his compassion, and his willingness to embrace the brokenness of others. May his leadership reflect Your heart — a heart that does not demand perfection, but offers grace.
Lord, give us the courage to open the door of our hearts to You. Help us to hear Your whispers in the quiet places of our lives. Remind us that no matter how far we may wander, You never stop waiting for us.
Bless Pope Leo with wisdom, strength, and deep humility. Fill him with Your Holy Spirit so that he may guide Your Church as a true home for the weary and a light for the world. Through him, bring peace to our world, unity to our Church, and healing to those most in need.
We are small, Lord — but in Your love, we are rich. Amen.
Please share my Message with others at your church or parish. Invite them to subscribe to: TreatsfortheSoul.org. Do listen to my Podcast by clicking the white arrow in the blue circle and invite others to listen as well.
