Pope Leo: God’s commandments are not oppression, but liberation
February 17, 2026
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Sunday evening Mass at a Roman parish (video) and emphasized that God’s commandments are not a source of oppression, but rather a condition of liberation and flourishing.
The 5:00 Mass followed three addresses to various parish groups at Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day (Matthew 5:17-37), Pope Leo preached:
Through the Decalogue, after the exodus from Egypt, God had established a covenant with his people, offering them a plan for life and a path to salvation. The “Ten Words” are thus to be understood within the context of the journey of liberation, thanks to which a group of divided and oppressed tribes was transformed into a united and free people.
Those commandments thus appear, in the long journey through the desert, as the light that shows the way; and their observance is understood and fulfilled not so much as a formal fulfilment of precepts, but as an act of love, of grateful and trusting correspondence to the Lord of the covenant. Therefore, the law given by God to his people is not in contrast with their freedom, but on the contrary is the condition for its flourishing.
Thus, the first Reading, taken from the book of Sirach (cf. 15, 16-21), and Psalm 118, with which we sang our response, invite us to see in the Lord’s commandments not an oppressive law, but his pedagogy for humanity seeking fullness of life and freedom.
Focusing on Christ’s words on anger and insulting speech (Matthew 5:21-22), Pope Leo said Christ “indicates fidelity to God, based on respect and on care for others in their inviolable sacredness, as the way to human fulfilment, to be cultivated first and foremost in the heart, even before in deeds and words.”
“Indeed, it is there that the most noble sentiments are born, but also the most painful profanations: closed-mindedness, envy, jealousy, so that those who think badly of their brother, harboring evil feelings towards him, are as if they were already killing him in their hearts,” the Pope added.
At the conclusion of his homily, Pope Leo recalled the origins of the parish:
Pope Benedict XV, a hundred and ten years ago, wanted this parish to be dedicated to Saint Mary Queen of Peace. He did so at the height of the first world war, thinking also of your community as a ray of light in the leaden sky of war. Unfortunately, with the passing of time, many clouds still darken the world, with the spread of ways of thinking contrary to the Gospel, which exalt the supremacy of the strongest, encourage arrogance and fuel the seduction of victory at any cost, deaf to the cries of those who suffer and those who are defenseless.
Let us oppose this trend with the disarming power of meekness, continuing to ask for peace and, welcoming and cultivating the gift, with tenacity and humility. Saint Augustine taught that “It is harder to praise peace than to possess her… If we wish to possess her, we can do so without the slightest effort” (Sermon 357, 1). And this is because our peace is Christ, which is won by letting ourselves be won over and transformed by Him, opening our hearts, and, with His grace, opening them to those whom He places on our path.
Do this too, dear sisters and dear brothers, day by day. Do it together, as a community, with the help of Mary, Queen of Peace. May she, Mother of God and our Mother, keep us and protect us always. Amen.
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