VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The secret to living an authentic life is praying to understand what is truly beneficial according to God's plan and letting go of the superfluous, Pope Leo XIV said.

In fact, death "can be a great teacher of life. To know that it exists, and above all to reflect on it, teaches us to choose what we really want to make of our existence," the pope said Dec. 10 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"Praying, in order to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things, is the secret to living authentically, in the awareness that our passage on earth prepares us for eternity," he said.

It was the pope's first general audience after returning from his first apostolic trip, a visit to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2. An 82-foot-tall Christmas tree, which arrived Nov. 27 and will be fully decorated and unveiled with the Nativity scene Dec. 15, could be seen near the obelisk in the square. 

Instead of using his general audience talk to recap his trip as had been the custom of his immediate predecessors, the pope did so after reciting the Angelus Dec. 7. At the audience, he continued his series of talks on the Jubilee theme of "Jesus our hope," focusing on "death in the light of the Resurrection."

"Our present culture tends to fear death and seeks to avoid thinking about it, even turning to medicine and science in search of immortality," Pope Leo said in his English-language remarks.

However, Jesus' victory of passing from death to life with his Resurrection "illuminates our own mortality, reminding us that death is not the end, but a passing from this life into eternity," he said. "Therefore, death is not something to be feared, but rather a moment to prepare for."

"It is an invitation to examine our lives and so live in such a way that we may one day share not only in the death of Christ, but also in the joy of eternal life," the pope said.

"The event of the Resurrection of Christ reveals to us that death is not opposed to life, but rather is a constitutive part of it, as the passage to eternal life," he said in his main catechesis in Italian.

"He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions," Pope Leo said.

Awaiting death "with the sure hope of the Resurrection preserves us from the fear of disappearing forever and prepares us for the joy of life without end," he said. 

In 2019 Pope Francis added the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto to the Universal Roman Calendar. The title Our Lady of Loreto refers to the Holy House of Loreto, the house in which Mary was born, and in which the Word was made flesh at the Annunciation. Tradition says that a band of angels scooped up the little house from the Holy Land, and transported it first to Tersato, Dalmatia in 1291, then Recanati, Italy in 1294, and finally to Loreto, Italy where it has been for centuries. It was this translation of the Holy House and the longstanding of the structure Our Lady of Loreto is the patron of builders, construction workers, and aviation. It is the first shrine of international renown dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and has been known as a Marian center for centuries. Popes have always held the Shrine of Loreto in special esteem, and it is under their direct authority and protection. A replica of an ancient statue of Our Lady which is found there, one of the "Black Madonnas." The original statue made of cedar from Lebanon was destroyed in a fire in 1921.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the importance of dialogue and his hopes for a just and lasting peace in the region.

"In addition, the questions of prisoners of war and the need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families were also discussed," the Vatican press office said in a communique released after the meeting Dec. 9.

The two leaders held their closed-door meeting in the morning at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, southeast of Rome; the meeting lasted about 30 minutes.

"During the cordial talks, which focused on the war in Ukraine, the Holy Father reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace," the Vatican communique said. 

During an exchange of gifts, Zelenskyy gave Pope Leo a handmade, traditional Ukrainian-style Nativity scene, according to Vatican News.

Ukraine's ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, was part of the five-person delegation and said, "It was a wonderful meeting, very sincere and peaceful," reported Vatican News.

On X, the social media platform, Zelenskyy expressed his appreciation for the support of the pope and the Holy See with its "ongoing humanitarian assistance and the readiness to expand humanitarian missions."

"During today's audience with His Holiness, I thanked him for his constant prayers for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people, as well as for his calls for a just peace," the president wrote.

He said he told the pope "about diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace," and "we discussed further actions and the Vatican's mediation aimed at returning our children abducted by Russia."

President Zelenskyy also invited the pope to visit Ukraine, saying it "would be a powerful signal of support for our people."

The meeting with the pope came after Zelenskyy met British, French and German leaders in London Dec. 8 to bolster support for Ukraine and increase economic pressure on Russian President Vladímir Putin to put an end to the war on his neighbor.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office said the London meeting aimed "to continue joint work on the U.S. plan in order to complement it with European contributions, in close coordination with Ukraine," according to the Associated Press.

Zelenskyy also met Dec. 8 with Mark Rutte, secretary-general of NATO, António Costa, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, at Rutte's official residence in Brussels.

According to a statement published Dec. 9 on Zelenskyy's official website, president.gov.ua, those leaders "discussed diplomatic work with the U.S. side aimed at achieving a dignified and guaranteed peace" based on a peace process that is "clearly focused on safeguarding its sovereignty and national interests."

"The parties agreed that the framework must clearly specify a date for Ukraine's accession to the European Union," the statement said.

Von der Leyen posted on X that the "EU remains ironclad in its support for Ukraine," adding that "Ukraine's security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defence for our Union." 

After meeting with European leaders, Zelenskyy was set to share with the United States an update to the original peace plan U.S. President Donald Trump had proposed, which many observers saw as more favorable to Russia.

Zelenskyy told reporters on WhatsApp the new plan removed eight "obvious anti-Ukrainian points" or conditions; however, there was still no consensus on giving up Ukrainian territory to Russia, which the U.S. plan considers necessary for peace, but Ukraine and Europe have opposed.

Zelenskyy's meetings in Western Europe reflect his and other leaders' desire to include Europe in the U.S. peace plan, something the U.S. did not do.

Speaking to reporters on the papal plane from Lebanon to Rome Dec. 2, Pope Leo said, "It is clear that, on the one hand, the president of the United States thinks he can promote a peace plan that he would like to implement and that, at least initially, did not involve Europe."

"However, Europe's presence is actually important, and that initial proposal was modified partly because of what Europe was saying," he said.

"Specifically, I think Italy's role could be very important," he said, "because of Italy's ability to act as an intermediary in a conflict between different parties: Ukraine, Russia, obviously, the United States…."

"I would suggest that the Holy See could also encourage this type of mediation and that we seek together a solution that could truly offer peace, a just peace, in this case in Ukraine," the pope had said.

Zelenskyy was meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Dec. 9 after his meeting with Pope Leo.

It was the third time Pope Leo and the Ukrainian president sat down together: the first time was briefly after the pope's installation Mass at the Vatican May 18, and then for 30-minute closed-door talks July 9 at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo.

Today the Church in the United States celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548), an Indian convert, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared as he was going to Mass in Tlatlelolco, Mexico. Our Lady asked him to tell the Bishop that she desired a shrine to be built on the spot to manifest her love for all mankind. She left a marvelous portrait of herself on the mantle of Juan Diego as a sign for the Bishop. This miraculous image has proved to be ageless, and is kept in the shrine built in her honor, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.

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