God Loves Everyone:
The Essential The Essential Robert Francis Prevost:
The Voice of Robert Francis Prevost, from Peru to the Papacy
Pope Leo XIV
Robert Prevost
Huayruro Editorial
ISBN 9798283044484
ASIN B0F7Z72V4L
ASIN B0F84DDRN7
As soon as Pope Leo XIV was announced I started looking for books by and about him. Over 20 showed up within hours, and hundreds by the next morning. I picked this up because it appeared to be the only volume drawn from the new pope's own words. The description of the book is:
“A powerful collection of homilies from Pope Leo XIV, offering hope, humility, and a call to service in a fractured world.
Before he was elected pope, Robert Francis Prevost spent decades in Peru as a missionary bishop, earning a reputation for compassion, clarity, and quiet leadership. Now, as Pope Leo XIV, his words have taken on new weight—and new urgency. God Loves Everyone gathers some of his most resonant homilies and public addresses, translated into English for the first time.
Spanning themes of faith, justice, community, and mercy, this short collection offers a glimpse into the spiritual vision of a humble man now called to lead the global Church. At once simple and profound, these texts are ideal for readers seeking clarity in uncertain times—and for anyone curious about the voice of the new pope.”
The chapters and sections in the volume are:
Editor’s Note
Preface
Inaugural Address of Pope Leo XIV
Christmas Greetings December 24, 2021
Lent Homily – March 22, 2012
Ash Wednesday Homily – February 18, 2021
Psalm Sunday Homily – March 28, 2021
Easter Sunday Homily - April 5, 2021
Sunday Homily – August 8, 2024
Sunday Homily by Pope Leo XIV – October 9, 2020
As can be seen by the contents most of this text is taken from homilies given during the pandemic. I highlighted several passages while reading this volume. From the Editor’s note:
“At a time when the Catholic Church finds itself at a crossroads—torn between the weight of tradition and the urgency of renewal—few figures embody the possibility of synthesis as credibly as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.”
“Prevost is not a media personality. He does not seek visibility. And yet, through the years, he has delivered a steady stream of homilies, public reflections, and pastoral messages that reveal a consistent vision: of a Church that walks humbly, listens deeply, serves radically, and lives the Gospel not as abstraction but as flesh.”
“This short collection gathers some of those public homilies and statements, most of them originally delivered in Spanish and translated here into English. It is not exhaustive. It does not pretend to offer a definitive portrait.”
It is indeed a short collection. And can be read over about an hour and a large mug of tea. But it gives us some insight into the heart, pastoral care and mind of our new Pope, Pope Leo XIV. From the preface I highlighted:
“This volume represents, to our knowledge, the first published collection of homilies by Pope Leo XIV available to readers in any language. It gathers, with care, a selection of his public words—spoken in churches and plazas, to small congregations and national audiences alike.”
“These are not doctrinal treatises, but living moments: pastoral, reflective, and at times deeply moving. They reveal a pontiff whose strength lies not in spectacle, but in simplicity and trust.”
From the sermons and addresses I highlighted these passages:
“I also want to thank all the brother Cardinals who have elected me to be the successor of Francis, that we may go forward as a united Church seeking peace, justice, always seeking to work as faithful men, faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, proclaiming the Gospel and being missionaries.”
“In this sense, we can say we can walk together toward that homeland that God has prepared for us. To the Church of Rome, a special greeting, a special greeting. We must seek together to be a Church that builds, a Church always open like this to all those who have these needs for dialogue and good.”
“This year, after long months of the pandemic, and when we still don't see an end to this time of illness, of so many deaths, this sweet feast of hope comes to us. And I would like to say to all of you, may you receive the peace and hope that comes through the birth of Jesus Christ.”
“May God bless all of you, may He fill you with peace, with calm, with hope, may it reach the homes of each one of you, may your families also be an experience of this unity, of this love that Jesus Christ gives us at Christmas.”
“In that sense, they represent so many men, so many women who are also seeking God. We ourselves who are here present, those who accompany us on social media, if truly in our heart, in our life, we also share that restlessness of wanting to find God.”
“Here we could develop a theme: the importance of being a disciple, the importance of being ourselves also instruments for those people who want to approach Jesus but don't know how to do it.”
“Look, from the beginning in the Christian experience, there is this element that we can call community: doing things united, together, never alone. No one has this protagonism that they alone will do everything. Never in the Christian life does the Lord teach us to live in community, to share tasks, to work united, to unite in order to approach Jesus.”
“This year, the diocese, as part of our pastoral journey, has as its motto "Come and see." This Gospel is an example, a testimony precisely of this expression. Greeks, foreigners from afar, approach Jerusalem. They want to find God. They want to know Jesus. They want to see Jesus.”
“Who is Jesus for you? Are you truly looking for Him? Do you want to live as His disciple, imitating His example when He says, "My blood will be poured out, my life given in service to others"? That is what Jesus asks of us.”
“No one can be a Christian alone. And it is again in this dialogue, this encounter, this sharing of life with others that we can also know ourselves, know the other, and know God.”
“Do you want to know Jesus? We all do—that's why we're here. And if we want to know Jesus, we have to put ourselves at the service of one another.”
“And Christ invites us to live this time as a time of renewal, of penance, and also of conversion and personal growth.”
“The Lord calls us all to live in this spirit and with the three Christian practices about which Jesus speaks to us in the Gospel: fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Today, and throughout Lent, are you making an additional sacrifice? Are you seeking how to give more alms to a person in need?”
“But this morning, I simply want to perhaps emphasize the importance that exists in community. Being Church is not about each person being alone at home, but knowing how to feel and live as brothers and sisters, all together.”
“Family is important nowadays. Let's not lose it—sometimes we take it for granted. Let's strengthen the bonds of love, communication, and affection in each family. And let us seek to live with Jesus also in His suffering and His pain, listening and feeling that truly this week is holy.”
“Meanwhile, let us be men and women, elderly and children, people of faith, people who live with hope, and who know what it means to proclaim Jesus Christ who is our King. Jesus Christ who did not hide, did not flee from suffering.”
“It is that God who is love invites us to understand life not from our perspective, but from His perspective, His logic, His way of seeing and thinking and viewing things. And the resurrection of Jesus, which we live today and during this Easter season, is the opportunity to open our heart, our mind, to renew our faith, to say, "Yes, Lord, Your will, not mine."”
“First of all, we see how the disciples always gather in His name, in the name of Christ—that is, in community. It is important to live an experience of community in the Church. No one is saved alone, by themselves, and when we are united in the parish—"
“But also in our groups, in the movements, in our teams, and above all in the family, to share the faith in community. We are gathered in His name, and we can truly experience His presence with Christ.”
“But as we hear there, the Lord never abandons us. Not only that, the Lord often pushes us and says to us, "Rise, you must go forward." But He doesn't leave us alone, and He feeds us, gives us what we need to go forward.”
“Jesus in the Gospel speaks to us more specifically about how He accompanies us, how He nourishes us in our life. And how beautiful it is that we are all here today around the altar where the Lord nourishes us with His body and blood in the Eucharist.”
“The Lord is concerned about us, concerned with our physical nourishment, but also and especially with our spiritual nourishment.”
“May the Lord on this night help us to remove bitterness, pain, difficulties, discouragements, and man this bread that has come down from heaven truly be for all of us the Bread of Life that will always nourish us for eternal life. Amen.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume and for our new pope. It was great to read these homilies and addresses in the week after his election. It was a great little introduction to the man, his thought, and his pastoral concern. I greatly enjoyed and benefited reading this little volume. I can easily recommend it.
Books about Pope Leo XIV:
LEO XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope - Matthew Bunson
When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV's Early Days
- Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, Dr. Edward Sri, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Fr. Josh Johnson, and Katie Prejean McGrady
Pope Leo XIV - Jesús Colina
Pope Leo XIV Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy - Christopher White
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Books By Pope Leo XVI:
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