Pope Leo XIV on Thursday highlighted the value of the vow of obedience in institutes of religious life as “a school of freedom in love” that lays the foundations of fidelity beyond “the ‘feelings’ of the moment.”

During a Sept. 18 meeting with participants in the general chapters and assemblies of various congregations and institutes, the pontiff reflected on “some unifying characteristics” of the legacy of the founders of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the Society of Mary (Marists), the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Conception, and the Ursulines of Mary Immaculate.

First, he emphasized the importance of community life “as a place of sanctification and a source of inspiration, witness, and strength in your apostolate.”

In this regard, Leo XIV explained to those present that “it is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit inspired those who preceded you to join the sisters and brothers whom Providence placed on their path, so that goodness would multiply and grow through the communion of good people. This was the case at the beginning of your foundations and throughout the centuries, and the same continues to take place today.”

Second, Leo XIV emphasized the value of “obedience as an act of love” in the context of religious consecration.

Drawing on the words of St. Augustine, he recalled that obedience is the daughter of charity: “I do not trust what is stuck in the soil unless I can see what’s hanging from the branches. You have charity, do you? Show me its fruit. Let me see obedience,” the saint of Hippo said.

Leo: Talk of obedience ‘is not very fashionable today’

Leo XIV admitted that “talking about obedience is not very fashionable today,” because it is considered to involve a renunciation of one’s own freedom.

“But that is not the case,” he affirmed before explaining that “obedience, in its deepest meaning of active and generous listening to others, is a great act of love by which we accept dying to ourselves so that our brothers and sisters may grow and live.”

“When it is professed and lived with faith, obedience reveals a luminous path of self-giving that can help the world rediscover the value of sacrifice, the capacity for lasting relationships, and the maturity in community that goes beyond the “feelings” of the moment by establishing itself in fidelity. Obedience is a school of freedom in love,” he explained.

The third characteristic highlighted by the pontiff is related to “being attentive to the signs of the times,” which he defined as “an open and perceptive gaze toward the real demands of our brothers and sisters,” without which the present congregations would not have existed.

“Your founders were capable of observing, evaluating, loving, and then setting out, even at the risk of great suffering and failure, to serve the real needs of their brothers and sisters, recognizing the voice of God in the poverty of their neighbors,” the pontiff noted, encouraging the participants “to move forward in the living memory of those courageous beginnings” to identify their potential, “perhaps still unexplored, in order to put them to good use in the service of the ‘here and now.’”

In his parting words to the religious, Leo XIV praised the hidden work they do: “Dear friends, I know how much good you do every day in so many parts of the world — good that is often unseen by human eyes but not by God’s! I thank you and bless you from my heart, encouraging you to continue your mission with faith and generosity.”

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This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.