APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIVTO SPAIN(6-12 JUNE 2026)

HOLY MASSSOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Gran Canaria Stadium (Las Palmas)Thursday, 11 June 2026

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Dear brothers and sisters, as I celebrate this Eucharist with you after a day rich in encounters and sharing, I wish first of all to give thanks to the Lord for all the good that is done here every day, entrusting to him everyone’s commitment and, at the same time, the sufferings of which this land bears witness. I also invite you to pray together, during this Holy Mass, for our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives at sea.

We bring all of this to the altar, together with the bread and wine, as we enter, with this evening Vigil celebration, into the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom all of Spain is consecrated. Let us ask the Lord that, in this moment, the same sentiments of humanity, mercy and compassion of the Savior’s Heart may be alive within us.

In our meditation, we draw inspiration from the readings we have heard.

In the first reading, God reminds the Israelites of the unconditional love with which he has loved them. He chose them not because they had any special privileges, gifts or merits, but out of pure love (cf.Deut7:7–9), and he will continue to love them always, even when, because of their hardened hearts, they do not reciprocate his love.

This is God’s love, in which our vocation to love is rooted. It is not a love based on calculation, nor on mere sentiment, nor reducible to simple philanthropy, but rather one that permeates our entire being: fire for the soul, light for the mind, peace, an irresistible impulse toward freedom, but at the same time, it is torment for the heart, which beats in harmony with other hearts and involves the whole person. For to love is innate to man; indeed, it is the condition for the fullness of his very existence.

Thus, love is revealed to us in the humanity of the Savior and in the movements of his most Sacred Heart: unchanging and faithful even in the face of misunderstanding and rejection, fear, sadness and human resistance (cf.Lk22:39–46).

And it is in this face of God, who is always “in love,” who totally and constantly desires our good and our full happiness, that we recognize the path of life — learning a new way of being and relating to one another, a different standard for evaluating decisions and a renewed and inspiring way of building communion. In this regard,Pope Francis, speaking of Christ’s charity, said that “our best response to the love of Christ’s heart is to love our brothers and sisters” (Dilexit Nos, 167) and added: “there is no greater way for us to return love for love” (ibid.). “Returning love for love”: this is the wonderful exchange, the “admirabile commercium” (cf.First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,First Antiphon), through which the Gospel invites us to let ourselves be drawn, translating the infinite measure of God’s love into the generosity with which we serve him, every day, in the brothers and sisters whom he himself places on our path — especially in those most in need, the defenseless, those unable to give anything in return (cf.Lk6:32–36), precisely as happens on this island, in the welcoming, in the sharing, in the selfless giving.

The generosity of the Heart of Christ, however, does not stop there. It goes further, committing itself to helping each person not only to survive, but also to regain confidence and get back on track, so that they may grow and flourish fully in their uniqueness, for the good of all. In this regard,Pope Benedict XVIwrote that charity “to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life… is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity” (Caritas in Veritate, 1).

In the second reading, Saint John reminded us that “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (1 Jn4:9). His words echo those of Jesus, who said that he had come so that we might have life and have it in abundance (cf.Jn10:10), and who commanded the paralytic who had been healed: “Stand up, take your mat and walk” (Mk2:9). In these words, we recognize the invitation to embrace those who suffer with motherly compassion and, at the same time, to prepare and encourage the wounded to rise and set out once more on the path to a free and dignified life.

Indeed, our charity must not be mere material assistance, but must foster the integral development of the person — spiritual, intellectual and physical — and his or her dignified and constructive integration into the community (cf.Fratelli Tutti, 129). Only in this way will our encounters, even in the face of difficult and painful circumstances, become an opportunity to sow seeds of hope on humanity’s journey toward a better future.

But I would like to pause, in light of the Word of God we have heard, on one final characteristic of the Heart of Christ: humility (cf.Mt11:29). The Heart of Jesus is humble, and that is why its beating is not felt by the “learned” and the “wise,” that is, those who presume to be self-sufficient, to know everything, to need neither God nor others. Dazed by the clamor of a bombastic, omnipresent and restless “I,” they lack the silence necessary to hear within themselves and in their brothers and sisters the hidden, beating heart of love.

“Not infrequently, our prosperity can make us blind to the needs of others, and even make us think that our happiness and fulfillment depend on ourselves alone, apart from others.” (Dilexi Te, 108). Jesus, on the other hand, teaches us the opposite: to experience the true joy of life, which lies in love, we must step down from the pedestals of arrogance that divide us and see ourselves in the humility that unites us.

Saint Augustine said: “Where there is charity, there is peace, and where there is humility, there is charity” (On the First Letter of St. John to the Parthians, Prologue). This is indeed the case. Where there is authentic humility, there is love, and where there is love, there is peace, because only in humility do we truly know who we are and, therefore, become able to love one another, encounter one another, give ourselves to one another and forgive one another in truth.

Dear brothers and sisters, today we venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a heart that we often depict ablaze and crowned with thorns, according to the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Let us remember that we are the living presence of the Lord in the world (cf.Lumen Gentium, 8). Therefore, let us look upon one another — not only on this day but always — with respect and trust, and, mindful of this, let us renew our commitment to complete in our own lives, through charity, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for the good of the Church (cf.Col1:24). Enkindled by the charity of his Heart, let us be bearers of his mercy and his peace, so that wars may cease in the world and a new humanity, reconciled in love, may rise up around us.

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