Pope Leo XIV cries out during Mass, ‘Lebanon, rise up!’ as he bids farewell to the country of cedars

A Mass in Beirut attended by 150,000 people was Pope Leo XIV's last act in Lebanon, after visiting the sick at the Croix Hospital and praying and greeting the families of the victims of the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. A devastating explosion that left 218 dead, 7,000 injured, 300,000 displaced, and extensive material damage. “Lebanon, rise up!" said the Pope. 

“Be a dwelling place of justice and fraternity! Be a prophecy of peace for the entire Levant!” encouraged the Pontiff in his homily during Holy Mass, celebrated in French and outdoors, which was also attended by the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, a Maronite Christian, married and father of two children, and numerous faithful. 

During his travels around Beirut, his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, and today, thousands of people took to the streets to greet and thank the Holy Father for his visit. He encouraged them to “not forget the most vulnerable” during his visit to the hospital run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross.

Prone to resignation and complaint rather than praise

In his homily, the Holy Father referred to the beauty with which the Lord has adorned Lebanon, sung about in Scripture, and to the tall cedars, as well as to the attitude of praise to the Lord, which “does not always find space within us. Sometimes, weighed down by the fatigue of life, worried about the many problems that surround us, paralyzed by powerlessness in the face of evil and oppressed by so many difficult situations, we feel more inclined to resignation and complaint than to wonder and gratitude.”.

Finding the little lights, the buds

For this reason, the Pope has invited us to always cultivate attitudes of praise and gratitude, and has invited us to “find the small lights that shine in the depths of the night, both to open ourselves to gratitude and to stimulate us to a common commitment in favor of this earth.”.

We are all called to nurture these shoots, not to lose heart, not to give in to the logic of violence or the idolatry of money, not to resign ourselves to the evil that is spreading, he encouraged.

Joining forces

“Each of us must do our part, and we must all join forces so that this land can regain its splendor. And there is only one way to do this: let us open our hearts, let us cast aside the armor of our ethnic and political divisions, let us open our religious confessions to mutual encounter.”.

Let us awaken in the depths of our being, he encouraged, “the dream of a united Lebanon, where peace and justice prevail, where all can recognize each other as brothers and sisters, and where, finally, what the prophet Isaiah describes to us can be realized: «The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion cub shall graze together» (Is 11:6).”

“This is the dream that has been entrusted to you,” said the Pope in a solemn tone. “It is what the God of peace places in your hands: Lebanon, rise up! Be a dwelling place of justice and brotherhood! Be a prophecy of peace for the entire Levant!”.

Faith, families, schools, parishes, congregations, movements...

The Pope has relied on the “small lights that shine in the night, small shoots that sprout, small seeds planted in the arid garden of this historical time, we too can see them, here and now.”. 

“I think of their simple and genuine faith, rooted in their families and nourished by Christian schools; of the constant work of parishes, congregations, and movements to respond to people's questions and needs.”.

Priests and religious, work of the laity

“I am reminded of the many priests and religious who dedicate themselves to their mission amid numerous difficulties, as well as the laity who are committed to charity and the promotion of the Gospel in society,” he also said.

For these lights that strive to illuminate the darkness of the night, for these small and invisible buds that nevertheless open up hope for the future, today we must say with Jesus: “We praise you, Father!” exclaimed the Holy Father.

“Brothers and sisters,” concluded Leo XIV, “I too want to say, repeating the words of Jesus: “I praise you, Father.” I give thanks to the Lord for having shared these days with you, while I carry your sufferings and your hopes in my heart.

Hope that does not fade

I pray for you, that this land of the Levant may always be illuminated by faith in Jesus Christ, the sun of justice, and, thanks to Him, may it preserve the hope that never fails.

At the end of Holy Mass, the Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, His Beatitude Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, offered words of gratitude to the Pope.

Appeal to the Middle East

Before concluding, the Pope made an impassioned appeal, confessing that «I wanted to become a pilgrim of hope in the Middle East, imploring God for the gift of peace for this beloved land, marked by instability, wars, and suffering.”.

Leo XIV has encouraged us to seek peace and justice, to work together in pursuit of peace, to overcome violence, to fight against despair and resignation, and to be peacemakers in Lebanon, with a message for the “Middle East,” which “needs new attitudes, to reject the logic of revenge and violence, to overcome political, social, and religious divisions.”.

Finally, he invoked the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Harissa, to protect all the Lebanese people, prayed before the icon of the Virgin Mary next to the altar, and imparted the blessing.