Vatican City: At his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV reflected deeply on the mystery of human existence, reminding the faithful that life finds its true meaning only when anchored in hope and in the love of Christ. Continuing his catechesis on the theme of Christian hope, the Pope explored the beauty, fragility, and inner contradictions that shape every human life.
The Pope noted that life itself is a precious gift that none of us asked for, yet one that demands constant care, protection, and nourishment.
“Life is something offered to us,” he said. “We cannot grant it to ourselves, yet it must be sustained, animated, guarded, and renewed every day.”
Alongside this gift comes humanity’s longing to understand purpose our search for the reason we exist and the destiny toward which we journey. Living with a sense of mission, he explained, is what enables hope to flourish and gives strength to persevere even when burdened by fatigue, difficulties, or doubt.
“To hope in life,” he added, “is to taste in advance the destination that awaits us to trust as certain what we cannot yet grasp, and to rely on the love of a Father who created us out of love and desires our happiness.”
The Pope lamented that modern society increasingly suffers from a loss of trust in life, a spiritual sickness he said breeds fatalism, discouragement, and withdrawal from purpose. True living, he insisted, requires courage a courage God renews through Christ, who came to restore hope to the forgotten, the wounded, and the isolated.
Reflecting on humanity’s role in God’s creative plan, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the vocation of giving life, especially the love shared between a man and a woman, which he described as a “magnificent crescendo” of divine intention.
“Created in God’s image,” he said, “they were entrusted with the mission to generate life in love. Yet human freedom, though a gift, often becomes a source of tension, as we are tempted to see others as rivals instead of companions.”
Despite these contradictions, he affirmed that God never abandons humanity but continually lifts us beyond violence, fear, and division. To give life physically, spiritually, and socially is to trust in the God who sustains all existence. This, he stressed, includes supporting families who face heavy burdens, limited resources, and obstacles to their dreams.
Drawing the catechesis to a close, the Pope urged Christians to keep their eyes fixed on the Resurrected Christ, the source of all hope.
“When life appears stalled or extinguished,” he said, “the Risen Lord continues to pass through our lives now and until the end of time walking with us and on our behalf. He remains our hope.”