(ZENIT News / Castelgandolfo, 07.20.2025).- For the second Sunday in a row, Pope Leo XIV gave his Sunday address and prayed the Angelus from the main entrance to the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo. It was learned today that the Pope will extend his stay at Castelgandolfo for two more days, until the afternoon of Tuesday, July 22. Moments before the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV had celebrated Mass in the cathedral of Albano. The Pope gave his address from the Sunday Gospel. We offer the English translation:
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Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on the hospitality shown by Abraham and his wife Sarah, and later by the sisters Martha and Mary, who were friends of Jesus (cf. Gen 18:1-10; Lk 10:38-42). Every time we are invited to the Lord’s Supper and share in the Eucharistic meal, it is God himself who “comes to serve us” (cf. Lk 12:37). Yet God first knew what it was to be a guest, and today as well, he stands at our door and knocks (cf. Rev 3:20). In Italian, the same word can mean both “guest” and “host.” On this summer Sunday, let us reflect on this interplay of giving and receiving hospitality, for without it our lives are impoverished.
Humility is needed to offer hospitality, but also to receive it. It also takes courtesy, attentiveness and openness. In the Gospel, Martha risks missing out on some of the joy of this exchange. She is so caught up in preparing to welcome Jesus that she nearly spoils a unique moment of encounter. Martha is a generous person, but our Lord calls her to something more than generosity alone. He calls her to leave her preparations behind and to come and spend time with him.
Dear brothers and sisters, our lives can only flourish if we learn to be open to something greater than ourselves, something that brings us happiness and fulfillment. Martha complains that her sister has left her alone to serve (cf. v. 40), but Mary is completely caught up in Jesus’ words. She is no less practical than her sister, nor less generous, but she recognized what was most important. kThat is why Jesus chides Martha. She was missing an opportunity to share in a moment that would have brought her great joy (cf. vv. 41-42).
The summer season can help us learn how to slow down and become more like Mary than Martha. Sometimes we too fail to choose the better part. We need to take time to rest and try to learn better the art of hospitality. The holiday industry wants to sell us all sorts of “experiences,” but perhaps not the ones we are really looking for. Every genuine encounter is free; it cannot be bought, whether it is an encounter with God, with others or with nature. We need only learn the art of hospitality, which includes both welcoming others and allowing ourselves to be welcomed. We have much to receive, not only to give.
Abraham and Sarah, despite their advanced years, found themselves being parents after they welcomed the Lord himself in the three visitors. We too have so much life ahead of us, remaining to be welcomed and embraced.
Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, our Mother, who welcomed our Lord, bore him in her womb, and together with Joseph gave him a home. In her, we see the beauty of our own vocation, the vocation of the Church, to be a home open to all and in this way to welcome her Lord, who knocks at our door and asks our permission to enter.
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