Pope Leo’s Spiritual Reading

Today in the First Things daily newsletter, two discussions of what it means for God to be with us. Ephraim Radner delves into a book Pope Leo recently named as one of his biggest spiritual influences, and Peter Leithart parses the last words of Jesus to his disciples.

What Does The Practice of the Presence of God Reveal About Leo?

Ephraim Radner

In the seven months since Pope Leo XIV was elected, the scramble to augur a roadmap for the future of his pontificate is ongoing. Leo gave a rare glimpse into his spiritual life when he recommended the seventeenth-century work The Practice of the Presence of God by a simple Carmelite named Brother Lawrence. But can this tract, beloved by Catholics and Protestants alike for its accessible methods for keeping God in mind always, tell us anything about the direction this pontificate might take? Ephraim Radner writes that the book is not theologically substantive enough to signal anything.

For further reading: Even Pope Leo’s first apostolic exhortation does not provide a window into his mind, Fr. Raymond J. de Souza wrote in October’s “How Much Does Dilexi Te Reflect Leo XIV’s Thinking?” The document was mostly drafted by Pope Francis, so we will have to wait for Leo to write something that is entirely his own work.

I With You Am

Peter J. Leithart

The last thing Jesus tells his disciples before his Ascension is “Behold, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age.” Except our English translation isn’t quite accurate—he actually says “I with you am.” This slight rearrangement is the fulfillment of all God’s “I am” statements throughout all of Scripture, Peter Leithart explains. God places his people (“you”) within himself (“I am”)—a fitting reflection in Advent as we await Immanuel, “God with us.”

For further reading: In 2001, shortly after 9/11, George Weigel had a conversation with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who believed that the triumph of moral relativism was corroding the West, resulting in loneliness and despair. In “Christmas and the Divine Proximity” (2016), Weigel relates Ratzinger’s prescription: christocentrism. The absence of God is only remedied when one remembers that Jesus is not just a moral example but God With Us, “in the midst of our lives, not outside them.”