Image: Basilicaof the “Sacred Heart of Jesus” in Via Marsala (Rome)
Pope Leo’s Homily for 1st Sunday of Lent
Parish of the “Sacred Heart of Jesus” in Via Marsala (Rome) – 22 February 2026
First Reading: (Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7) The Lord God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being.
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. The Lord God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden.
Now the serpent was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ The woman answered the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.”’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked.
So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loincloths.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 4:1-11Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was very hungry, and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
The devil then took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God’ he said ‘throw yourself down; for scripture says: He will put you in his angels’ charge, and they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Scripture also says: You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
He said ‘I will give you all these, if you fall at my feet and worship me.’ Then Jesus replied, ‘Be off, Satan! For scripture says: You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’
Then the devil left him, and angels appeared and looked after him.
Pope Leo’s Homily
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
A few days ago, with the Ash Wednesday rite, we began the Lenten journey.
Lent is an intense liturgical season, that offers us the opportunity to rediscover the richness of our baptism, and allows us to live as fully renewed creatures thanks to the Incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The First Reading and the Gospel we have heard, in dialogue with each other, help us to rediscover the gift of Baptism as a grace that encounters our freedom.
The Genesis account brings us back to our condition as creatures,
We are tested not by a prohibition, as is often believed, but by a possibility: the possibility of a relationship. In other words, human beings are free to recognize and accept the Creator’s otherness, and the Creator recognizes and welcomes the otherness of creatures.
To prevent this, the serpent insinuates the idea that one can eliminate the difference between creatures and the Creator. He seduces man and woman with the illusion of becoming like God.
Satan urges them to take possession of something that, he claims, God wants to withhold from them to keep them in a state of inferiority forever.
This Genesis fresco is an unsurpassed masterpiece representing the drama of freedom.
The Gospel seems to answer the age-old dilemma: Can I live life to the fullest by saying “yes” to God?
Or, to be free and happy, do I reject Him?
Ultimately, the scene of Christ’s temptations addresses this dramatic question.
It reveals the true humanity of Jesus who, as the Conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes teaches, reveals man to himself: “In the mystery of the Incarnate Word the mystery of man truly becomes clear”.
In fact, we see the Son of God who, who opposes the snares of the old Adversary and shows us the new man – the free man – the epiphany of the freedom that is realized by saying “yes” to God.
This new humanity is born from the baptismal font.
This this Season of Lent, we are called to rediscover the grace of baptism, as the source of life within us/
This grace accompanies us dynamically and respects our freedom.
First, the sacrament itself is dynamic, because its offerings are not limited to the time and space of the rite. Rather, it is a grace that accompanies our entire lives and sustains our following of Christ.
Baptism is also dynamic because it renews us continually.
Grace is an interior voice that urges us to conform to Jesus, freeing our freedom so that it may find fulfillment in loving God and neighbor/
In this way, we understand the relational nature of baptism, which calls us to live friendship with Jesus and, thus, to enter his communion with the Father.
This grace-filled relationship also enables us to experience authentic closeness with others/
Unlike the devil’s proposal to Jesus, this freedom is not the pursuit of personal power, but rather a selfless love that unites us as brothers and sisters.
In fact, St. Paul says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Brothers and sisters, Pope Leo XIII asked St. John Bosco to build this church where we are today right here, where we are on this 1st Sunday of Lent.
He sensed the importance of this location, situated next to Termini Station and at a crossroads in the city that would become increasingly significant over time.
Dear friends,
For this reason, I see you today as a special garrison of proximity and closeness within the challenges of this territory.
There are numerous young university students, commuters who come and go for work, immigrants searching for employment, and young refugees who have found the opportunity to meet Italian peers and carry out integration projects at the Salesian headquarters next door.
There are also our brothers and sisters who are homeless and find hospitality at Caritas in Via Marsala. In just a few meters, you can witness the contradictions of our time: the carefree lives of those who travel with all the comforts and those who have no roof; the abundance of opportunities for good and rampant violence; and the desire to work honestly alongside the illicit trade of drugs and prostitution.
Your parish is called to take charge of these realities.
Be a leaven of the Gospel in the dough of the territory.
Be a sign of closeness and charity.
I thank the Salesians for their tireless daily work, and I encourage everyone to continue to be a small flame of light and hope here.
May Mary Help of Christians always sustain us on our journey, strengthen us in times of temptation and trial, and help us to fully live the freedom and fraternity of children of God.
