Pope Leo XIV calls for evangelical approach without force or 'arrogant judgments'

Pope Leo XIV warned Sunday against imagining God as “a powerful figure who imposes himself by force, who takes over and dominates, or who arrives triumphantly,” and urged Christians to embrace a Gospel-centered approach marked by humility and trust.

Speaking before the Angelus prayer in Liberty Square at Castel Gandolfo, where he is spending several weeks of rest through Monday, July 27, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading.

Following the parable of the sower, Jesus addresses the crowds through the images of the good wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast in the dough, the pope noted.

“These three short parables recall the coming of the Kingdom of God in history, its action in human lives, and the way it grows, expands and transforms the world from within,” Pope Leo said.

Through these images, he continued, Jesus warns against thinking of God principally in terms of power, domination and triumph.

“Instead, God favors smallness, a sign of his discreet love, by which he leaves us free to accept or reject him,” the pope said. “His love makes its presence felt even among the weeds, acts in a hidden and invisible way like the smallest of all seeds, and…