Pope Leo at the Angelus: True righteousness demands great love

Vatican City, February 15, 2026: During his Angelus reflections on the Sunday Gospel, Pope Leo XIV emphasised that true righteousness is rooted not merely in the observance of rules, but in a deep and demanding love inspired by the Gospel.

Before leading the recitation of the Angelus, the Pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading, explaining that Jesus invites believers “to enter into the newness of the Kingdom of God.” He noted that the Gospel passage recalls how Jesus, after proclaiming the Beatitudes, reveals the true meaning of the precepts of the Law of Moses, which call people into a loving relationship with God and with one another. For this reason, Jesus affirms that he did not come to abolish the Law, but to bring it to fulfilment.

“The Law is fulfilled precisely by love, which brings its profound meaning and ultimate purpose to completion,” the Pope said.

Pope Leo explained that righteousness cannot be reduced to the mere external observance of commandments. Instead, it “opens us to love and compels us to love.” He pointed out that Jesus examines specific precepts of the Law and contrasts a formal, external righteousness with the deeper righteousness of the Kingdom of God. Through this teaching, the Pope said, Jesus shows that the Law given to Moses and the prophets serves as a path to knowing God and understanding His plan for humanity and for history.

Reflecting further, the Pope said that God Himself, in the person of Jesus, has come among us to bring the Law to fulfilment. In doing so, He makes believers children of the Father and grants them the grace to live in a relationship with God as sons and daughters, and with one another as brothers and sisters. True righteousness, he stressed, consists in love, and within every commandment lies a call to love more deeply.

Recalling the examples offered by Jesus in the Gospel, Pope Leo underlined that minimal righteousness is not sufficient. “Great love is needed,” he said, a love made possible by God’s strength and grace.

Concluding his reflection, the Pope entrusted the faithful to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, praying that she may help believers to understand more fully the Kingdom of God and to live faithfully its demanding call to righteousness grounded in love.

Courtesy: Vatican News

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