Pope Leo XIV highlights role of Jesus’ humanity in knowing God
Pope Leo XIV addressed the importance of understanding God through the humanity of Jesus during his weekly general audience on January 21 in Vatican City. The pope’s remarks were part of an ongoing series reflecting on Vatican Council II, with this address focusing on “Dei Verbum,” the church’s teaching about divine revelation.
He emphasized that God is not revealed solely as a transmitter of intellectual truths, but rather through the lived experiences of Jesus—his life, death, and resurrection. Pope Leo stated, “In order to know God in Christ, we must welcome his integral humanity: God’s truth is not fully revealed where it takes something away from the human, just as the integrity of Jesus’ humanity does not diminish the fullness of the divine gift. It is the integral humanity of Jesus that tells us the truth of the Father.”
The pope explained that Jesus’ incarnation involved being born, healing, teaching, suffering, dying, rising again, and remaining present among people. He said that considering Jesus only as a channel for transmitting intellectual truths does not do justice to the significance of his incarnation.
Pope Leo also spoke about how God communicates with people and how Jesus serves as the incarnate Word of God. He added, “Jesus Christ is the place where we recognize the truth of God the Father, while we discover ourselves known by him as sons in the Son, called to the same destiny of full life.”
He concluded by encouraging believers to follow Jesus’ path completely: “Brothers and sisters, by following the path of Jesus to the very end, we reach the certainty that nothing can separate us from God’s love.”
