Illustration: a fragment of a 6th-century Greek Codex Sinopensis
Pope Leo’s Angelus Reflection for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Peter’s Square – Sunday, 5 July 2026
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Gospel Reading: 14th Su
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.
Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you.
Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
Pope Leo’s Angelus Reflection:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus invites us to join him in praising the Father, “Lord of heaven and earth”.
By including all creatures in this act of thanksgiving, the Son of God made man reveals his love.
Such a spontaneous and joyful gesture reflects the simplicity of God’s way of acting.
He delights in revealing himself “to infants” while remaining hidden “from the wise and the intelligent.”
They are so filled with their own ideas that they fail to recognize the presence of Christ, the Messiah who comes to visit his people.
Human wisdom thus becomes arrogance, and doctrine degenerates into pride.
By contrast, God’s true wisdom is revealed in the humility of the Incarnation, and his teachings are directed primarily to the struggling: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens”‘ says the Lord.
Going to Jesus means responding to his love and sharing in his life, even to the cross, as he himself teaches: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”.
This self-giving out of love constitutes Jesus’ “yoke, which is the essence of his teaching and the heart of his wisdom, ablaze with love for all.
Brothers and sisters, how can the weight of the cross be “easy” and “light”?
For one reason alone: because the Lord himself carries it with us, never leaving us alone in our burdens.
As a true teacher, Jesus takes on humanity wounded by evil, to heal and care for it.
The wisdom he gives us proclaiming salvation, and his yoke lifts us up from every fall.
For this reason, our journey of following Christ is not an asceticism that mortifies.
Rather, it is a school of freedom that acknowledges the gravity of history and continually illuminates its meaning, especially during its darkest moments.
Indeed, evil is overcome only in the cross of Jesus, and our mortal weariness finds consolation and redemption only in his passion.
In slavery, Christ is liberation. Amid the scourge of war, Christ is hope. In the hour of sin, Christ is forgiveness. This is true wisdom and the path that we wish to walk together, united as disciples in his name. Jesus teaches us this as the Son, by becoming our brother. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he reveals to the Church the truth about God and about humanity, for “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (v. 27).
Dear friends, as we thank the Lord for the loving trust he has placed in us, let us ask Mary, Queen of Peace, to intercede for the good of the Church and of the whole world.
