When the world waited in anticipation for the announcement of our new Pope, I, like so many others, thought, “There’s no way it’ll be an American.” So when it was—an American, and an Augustinian at that—I was stunned. I had studied theology and pastoral ministry at Villanova, where Fr. Art Purcaro, a close friend of Pope Leo, first introduced me to liberation theology: reading the Gospel through the lived experiences of the poor and the oppressed. As I opened Dilexi Te and began to read, the themes of the preferential option for the poor, liberation, and God’s kingdom here and now felt instantly familiar. They rekindled a deep gratitude for that formation—and for the lens it gave me to recognize God’s work in the world and our call to join in it. When I came to Goodfaith eight years ago, I found that same vision alive and active—a place to live out what I had first learned in the classroom.
I’m inspired by Pope Leo’s bold and compassionate call and demand for us to live the Gospel through a tangible love for the poor. So many of the scripture passages Pope Leo calls our attention to in Dilexi Te are ones we have long used on our programs with young people – the Good Samaritan, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25), “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12), and the very scripture our organization was founded on and guided by: “So faith by itself, if it has no works is dead” (James 17).
He challenges us to see mercy not as an abstract ideal but as a daily action. We’re called to care for the sick, free the imprisoned, educate the young, and accompany migrants and refugees. As he writes:
“The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome.”
This all begins with encounter–that we might see Jesus in all those we meet. At Goodfaith, our programs have always been rooted in a faith that serves–one that meets others with love, encounter, and a desire to build community, that is, to build the kingdom of God here and now. As Pope Leo writes. “It must never be forgotten that the Gospel message has to do not only with an individual’s personal relationship with the Lord, but also with something greater: ‘the Kingdom of God’(cf. Lk 4:43); it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity. “
And he doesn’t stop at charity, he calls us to the structural work of justice:
“All the members of the People of God have a duty to make their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues, even at the cost of appearing foolish or naïve. Unjust structures need to be recognized and eradicated by the force of good, by changing mindsets but also, with the help of science and technology, by developing effective policies for societal change.”(Dilexi Te, 97)
Pope Leo’s words remind us that faith is never static. It is lived, shared, and made visible in the ways we love, serve, and seek justice. His call is not only to personal conversion but to communal transformation, to a Church that moves toward those at the margins and brings them to the center of our concern. As I reflect on my own journey from the classrooms at Villanova to the daily work of Goodfaith, and I see that same Gospel invitation unfolding again: to let love take shape in action, to let encounter become solidarity, and to let our shared faith continue writing the next chapter of God’s story in the world.
Maggie Smith
Senior Director, Strategy & Implementation
