Pope Leo’s Homily for Extraordinary Consistory
(- to stand still at the end of Christmas)
St Peter’s Basilica -Thursday, 8 January 2026
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God” (1 John 4:7).
The liturgy sets this exhortation before us as we celebrate the Extraordinary Consistory,
a moment of grace wherein our unity in the service of the Church finds its expression.
As we know, the word Consistory (Consistorium, or “assembly”) comes from the verb ‘consistere’, which means “to stand still.” Indeed, we have all “paused” in order to be here.
We have set aside our activities for a time and canceled important commitments to discern together what the Lord is asking of us for the good of his people.
This is a significant and prophetic gesture in itself, particularly in the context of our fast-paced society.
It reminds us of the importance of stopping to pray, listen and reflect on every aspect of life.
By doing so, we refocus our attention on our goal and direct every effort and resource towards it/
Otherwise, we risk running blindly or “beating the air” in vain, as the Apostle Paul warns (1 Corinthians 9:26 = I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air;).
We gather not to promote personal or group “agendas,” but to entrust our plans and inspirations to a discernment that transcends us – “as the heavens are higher than the earth” (Isaiah 55:9) – and which comes only from the Lord.
For this reason, it is important that we place each of our hopes and ideas upon the altar during this Eucharist.
Along with the gift of our lives, we offer them to the Father in union with Christ’s Sacrifice, so that we may receive them back purified, enlightened, united and transformed by grace into one Bread.
Only in this way will we truly know how to listen to and welcome his voice through the gift that we give to one another – which is why have gathered.
Although Our College is rich in many skills and remarkable gifts, it is not primarily called to be a group of mere experts, but a community of faith.
Only when each person’s gifts are offered to the Lord and returned by Him, will they bear the greatest fruit according to His providence.
Moreover, the love of God, in which we are disciples and apostles, is “Trinitarian” and “relational”.
It is the very source of that spirituality of communion, by which the Bride of Christ lives and desires to be a home and a school (cf. Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, January 6,2001, 43).
At the dawn of the third millennium, St. John Paul II expressing the hope that this spirituality would flourish and described it as “the heart’s contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the faces of the brothers and sisters”.
Our “pausing,” then, is first and foremost a profound act of love for God, for the Church and the people of the whole world.
Through prayer and silence, as well as by facing and listening to one another, we allow ourselves to be formed by the Spirit. Through sharing, we become a voice for all whom the Lord has entrusted to our pastoral care around the world.
We must approach this act with humble and generous hearts, recognizing that we are here by grace. Furthermore, we bring nothing that we have not first received as a gift or talent. These gifts are not to be squandered but rather invested with prudence and courage.
(Pope Leo refers here to Matthew 25:14–30 – “It will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; 15 to one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.
Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. 17 So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28
So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.[b]30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’).
Saint Leo the Great taught that “it is a great and very precious thing in the sight of the Lord when the whole people of Christ apply themselves together to the same duties, and all ranks and orders… cooperate with one and the same Spirit.”
According to him, “the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick visited, and no one seeks his or her own interests, but those of others” (Sermon 88, 4).
We wish to work together in this spirit, desiring that every member of the Mystical Body of Christ cooperate orderly for the good of all
(Ephesians 4:11–13 –His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;).
May we fully carry out our ministry with dignity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, offering our labor gladly and rejoicing in its fruits.
Likewise, may we welcome the labors of others and rejoice in seeing them flourish.
For two millennia, the Church has embodied this mystery in its multifaceted beauty.
This assembly is a testament to that, as we come from different places and ages, yet we are united by grace and faith, which makes us brothers.
In fact, we stand before a “great crowd” of humanity that is hungry for goodness and peace.
In a world where satisfaction and hunger, abundance and suffering, and the struggle for survival alongside desperate existential emptiness continue to divide and wound individuals, communities and nations, we may feel inadequate.
When faced with the Master’s words, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37), we, like the disciples, may also feel that we lack the necessary means.
Yet Jesus repeats to us once more, “How many loaves have you? Go and see” (Mark 6:38).
This is something we can do together.
We may not always find immediate solutions to the problems we face, but we will always be able to help one another—and particularly the Pope—find the “five loaves and two fish” that providence provides wherever his children ask for help.
When we welcome these gifts, hand them over, and distribute them, they are enriched by God’s blessing and the faith and love of all. Thus, no one lacks what is necessary.
(Mark 6:42 = they all ate and were satisfied.).
Beloved brothers, the profound and personal service you offer the Church at every level is unique to each of you and precious to all.
The responsibility you share with the Successor of Peter is weighty and demanding indeed.
For this reason, I offer you my heartfelt thanks, and I wish to conclude by entrusting our work and our mission to the Lord using the words of Saint Augustine:
“You give us many things when we pray, and whatever good we received before we prayed for it, we have received from you. We have also received from you the grace that later we came to realize this.
Remember, Lord ‘that we are but dust.’ You have made man of the dust” (Confessions,10. xxx1)).
Therefore, we say to you: “Grant what you command, and command what you will” (Confessions 10. xxx1)
