On the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, which many countries are celebrating this Sunday, Pope Leo XIV said in the Regina caeli in St. Peter's Square, that “we are united to Jesus, as members at the head, in one body, and his ascension into heaven draws us also, together with him, into full communion with the Father”.
In this sense, he recalled St. Augustine, who said: ‘The fact that the head advances constitutes the hope of the members’”.
The Ascension, then, “does not speak to us of a distant promise, but of a living bond that also draws us toward heavenly glory, expanding and elevating our horizons even in this life and bringing our way of thinking, feeling and acting ever closer to the measure of God's heart,” he added.
“We know the path of this ascension,” the Holy Father stressed, mentioning Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints, those already deceased and those who live next to us. He said:
Altar saints, and those ‘next door’.’
“We find it in Jesus, in the gift of his life, in his examples and teachings, just as we see it reflected in the Virgin Mary and in the saints: those whom the Church offers us as a universal model and those - as Pope Francis liked to call them, ‘those next door’.’‘, with whom we share our days: fathers, mothers, grandparents, people of all ages and conditions, who with joy and commitment sincerely strive to live according to the Gospel”.
With them, with their support and thanks to their prayers, we too can learn to ascend day by day towards Heaven, he stressed, (...), “making grow, in us and around us, the divine life that we received in Baptism and that constantly draws us upwards, towards the Father, and spreading in the world precious fruits of communion and peace”.
May Mary, Queen of Heaven, who at every moment enlightens and guides our path, help us, he concluded his address before praying the Marian prayer of the Regina caeli.
Social Communications: “Preserving Human Voices and Faces” in AI
After the Regina caeli, the Pontiff recalled that today, in several countries, the World Day of Social Communications is celebrated, “to which this year I have decided to dedicate the theme ‘Preserving human voices and faces’.
In this era of artificial intelligence, The Pope encouraged “everyone to commit themselves to promoting forms of communication that always respect human truth, which is the guiding principle of all technological innovation.
“To care for peace is to care for life.”
From today until next Sunday, the week is celebrated Laudato Si', dedicated to the care of the creation and inspired by in Pope Francis' encyclical, The Pope also pointed out.
In this Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, “we recall his message of peace with God, with our brothers and sisters, and with all creatures. Unfortunately, in recent years, due to wars, progress in this area has been greatly slowed down”.
For this reason, “I encourage the members of the Laudato Si’ Movement and all those who work for an integral ecology to renew their commitment. To care for peace is to care for life,” he concluded, before greeting pilgrims and faithful from various parts of the world and imparting the Blessing.
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