Pope at Audience: Advent teaches us how to wait in active hope

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV held a special Jubilee Audience on Saturday, as the Church journeys in the Advent Season toward Christmas.

In his catechesis, the Pope said Advent teaches us to pay attention to the signs of the times, since it takes preparation and effort to recognize Jesus in our world and daily lives.

Our waiting for the fulfilment of creation and its redemption is not passive, he said, noting that God always seeks to involve us in His work.

“God involves us in His story, in His dreams,” he said. “To hope, then, is to participate.”

He recalled the Jubilee theme—“Pilgrims of Hope”—and said that motto will not lose meaning when the Jubilee ends at Christmas.

Rather, it calls us to journey in hope throughout our lives and wait, not with our hands in our pockets but by actively taking part.

Christians, said the Pope, must “read the signs of the times,” which are the signs of God in historical circumstances, according to the Second Vatican Council.

“God is not outside the world, outside this life: we have learned from the first coming of Jesus, God-with-us, to seek Him in the realities of life,” he said. “To seek Him with intelligence, with the heart and with our sleeves rolled up!”

Lay Catholics are especially called to embrace this mission, since the Incarnate God comes to meet us in daily life and the problems and beauties of this world.

He recalled the life and witness of Alberto Marvelli, a young, 20th-century Italian member of Catholic Action, who wanted to rebuild Italy after the devastation of the Second World War.

He risked his life in politics and was struck and killed by a military truck while bicycling to a rally.

“The world becomes better if we give up a little security and comfort in order to choose what is good,” said the Pope. “This is participation.”

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to ask ourselves if we are engaging our talents joyfully in service of others and the Kingdom of God.

“To hope is to participate: this is a gift that God gives us,” he said. “No one saves the world alone. Not even God wants to save it alone: He could, but He does not want to, because together is better.”