Vatican City: Pope Leo reflected on the meaning of true righteousness during his Angelus address on Sunday, explaining that the Gospel calls believers to a deeper love that fulfills God’s law.
Speaking before leading the Angelus prayer, the Pope said Jesus invites people to enter the newness of the Kingdom of God. Referring to the Sunday Gospel, he noted that after proclaiming the Beatitudes, Jesus reveals the true meaning of the Law of Moses, which calls people into a relationship of love with God and with one another. He recalled that Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to bring it to fulfillment.
Pope explained that the law reaches its fullness through love, which reveals its deepest purpose. He emphasized that righteousness is not limited to simply observing commandments but opens the heart and compels a person to love.
Reflecting on Jesus’ teaching, Pope Leo said the Lord contrasts formal religious observance with the righteousness of God’s Kingdom. Through this teaching, he said, the law given through Moses and the prophets becomes a path to knowing God and understanding His plan for humanity and history.
He stressed that in Jesus, God comes close to humanity, fulfilling the law and making people children of the Father.
Through this relationship, believers are called to live as brothers and sisters. True righteousness, he said, consists in love, and every commandment contains a call to love.
Pope also recalled the examples given by Jesus to show that minimal righteousness is not enough and that great love is required. He added that such love is possible with God’s help.
Concluding his reflection, Pope Leo prayed that the Virgin Mary would intercede for believers and help them understand the Kingdom of God more deeply and live its call to righteousness.