Tyrant’s Kingdoms Are Crumbling. God’s Isn’t.
Power built on fear won’t last — but the Gospel will. Stand firm in what endures.
Dear friends —
Letters from Leo’s Sunday Reflection Series are essays grounded in the Mass readings — offering a clear-eyed way to follow Jesus amid today’s political realities, not by retreating from public life or baptizing any ideology, but by letting the Gospel shape our conscience, courage, and compassion.
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"Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him." — (Sirach 15:17)
It’s tempting to treat faith as a checklist of rules: avoid the big sins — don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie — and assume we’re doing enough. But today’s readings challenge us to go deeper.
God “has set before you life and death” and asks us to choose the path of life, not just to avoid death. Jesus doesn’t abolish God’s law; he fulfills it by revealing its heart: love.
In the Gospel, Jesus calls us beyond minimal morality. “You shall not kill” is just the start. Are we free from anger and contempt in our hearts? When we nurse grudges or hurl insults, we harm others and ourselves almost as surely as physical violence does. We see this around us: harsh rhetoric and hateful lies wound our communities.
Jesus urges us to seek reconciliation — “go first and be reconciled with your brother” — before claiming to honor God.
Imagine if we took that seriously in our politics and our families.
