On the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Family, Pope Leo XIV presided over the Angelus prayer this Sunday from the Apostolic Palace, before the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. In his reflection, the Pontiff dwelt on the Gospel passage of the flight to Egypt, highlighting the contrast between the light of the mystery of the Incarnation and the violence of the power represented by Herod. From this episode, the Pope emphasized the role of the Christian family as a place of welcome, fidelity, and hope in a world marked by selfishness, ambition, and lack of scruples—and we miss a mention of the thousands of innocents who die because of abortion—. Leo XIV exhorted to safeguard in families the values of the Gospel—the prayer, the sacraments, faithful love, and sincere dialogue—and asked to pray especially for families suffering because of war, entrusting them to the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
We leave below the complete message of Leo XIV:
Dear brothers and sisters: happy Sunday!
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family and the liturgy proposes to us the account of the “flight to Egypt” (cf. Mt 2,13-15.19-23).
It is a moment of trial for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Over the resplendent picture of Christmas is cast, almost suddenly, the disturbing shadow of a deadly threat, which has its origin in the tormented life of Herod, a cruel and bloodthirsty man, feared for his cruelty, but precisely for that reason deeply alone and obsessed with the fear of being dethroned. When he learns from the Magi that the “king of the Jews” has been born (cf. Mt 2,2), feeling threatened in his power, he decrees the death of all the children of Jesus’ age. In his kingdom, God is accomplishing the greatest miracle in history, in which all the ancient promises of salvation are fulfilled, but he is unable to see it, blinded by the fear of losing the throne, his riches, his privileges. In Bethlehem there is light, there is joy; some shepherds have received the heavenly announcement and before the manger have glorified God (cf. Lc 2,8-20), but none of this manages to penetrate the armored defenses of the royal palace, except as a distorted echo of a threat that must be stifled with blind violence.
However, precisely this hardness of heart highlights even more the value of the presence and mission of the Holy Family which, in the despotic and greedy world represented by the tyrant, is the nest and cradle of the only possible response of salvation: that of God who, with total gratuity, gives himself to men without reservations and without pretensions. And the gesture of Joseph who, obedient to the voice of the Lord, brings his wife and child to safety, is manifested here in all its redemptive meaning. In fact, in Egypt the flame of domestic love grows, to which the Lord has entrusted his presence in the world and gains strength to bring light to the whole world.
While we contemplate this mystery with awe and gratitude, let us think of our families and the light that they too can bring to the society in which we live. Unfortunately, the world always has its “Herods,” its myths of success at any price, of power without scruples, of empty and superficial well-being, and often suffers the consequences with loneliness, despair, with divisions and conflicts. Let us not allow these mirages to smother the flame of love in Christian families. On the contrary, let us protect in them the values of the Gospel: prayer, frequenting the sacraments—especially confession and communion—, healthy affections, sincere dialogue, fidelity, the simple and beautiful realism of words and good gestures of every day. This will make them a light of hope for the environments in which we live, a school of love and an instrument of salvation in the hands of God (cf. Francis, Homily at the Mass for the X World Meeting of Families, June 25, 2022).
Let us then ask the Heavenly Father, through the intercession of Mary and St. Joseph, to bless our families and all the families of the world, so that, following the model of the family of his Son made man, they may be for all an effective sign of his presence and his endless love.