Pope at Regina Caeli: 'It is Jesus' love that begets love within us'

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"The Lord does not leave us alone in life's trials," Pope Leo XIV reassured the faithful during his Regina Caeli address in the Vatican on Sunday.

Before reciting the midday Marian prayer of the Easter season, the Holy Father reflected on the day's Gospel according to St. John, in which, Jesus, at the Last Supper, says to His disciples, 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments.'

"This statement," Pope Leo said, "frees us from the misconception that we are loved because we keep the commandments as if our righteousness were a prerequisite for God’s love." On the contrary, he stated, "God’s love is the condition for our righteousness."

"We truly keep the commandments, according to God’s will," he explained, "when we recognize His love for us, just as Christ revealed it to the world," clarifying that Jesus' words therefore are "an invitation to enter into a relationship, not a blackmail or a suspicious ultimatum."

Jesus' love is what produces love in us

Precisely for this reason, Pope Leo explained, the Lord commands us to love one another as He has loved us.

"It is Jesus’ love that begets love within us," the Holy Father highlighted, noting, "Christ himself is the standard, the measure of true love: the love that is faithful forever, pure and unconditional."

"Because God loves us first," he noted, "we too can love; and when we truly love God, we truly love one another."

Pope Leo explained that the same is true for life itself, noting, "only those who have received life can live, so too, only those who have been loved can love."

Thus, he called the Lord’s Commandments "a way of life that heals us from false loves, and a spiritual lifestyle that is a path towards salvation."

The Lord promises to stay with us

Precisely because Christ loves us, the Holy Father said, He does not leave us alone in life’s trials, rather "He promises us the Paraclete, that is, the Advocate, the 'Spirit of truth.'"

Even amid the world's evils, he suggested, we are called to "bear witness to God, who is love, always and everywhere."

During our mission to love, the Pope warned against that which tries to impede even our best efforts.

While the Holy Spirit is the power of truth, the Pope warned of "the Accuser," the “father of lies,” who seeks to oppose God and turn people against one another.

Finally, Pope Leo concluded by calling on the faithful to be grateful for the Lord's unconditional and enduring love and to entrust ourselves to the intercession of His mother, the Virgin Mary.