Those who love your law shall have abundant peace

On Monday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (42: 1-16; 43: 4-7) entitled "Jeremiah and the people after the fall of the city". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo the Great (c. 400–461) was Pope from 440 to 461 and is one of only three popes honored with the title "the Great." A gifted theologian and courageous leader, he defended the true faith during a time of doctrinal controversy and political instability. His greatest contribution was clearly teaching that Jesus Christ is one divine Person with two complete natures, fully God and fully man. He is also remembered for strengthening the role of the papacy and, according to tradition, courageously persuading Attila the Hun not to attack Rome. Saint Leo is best known for his profound Christological teaching, his defense of the unity of the Church, and his eloquent sermons on the mysteries of Christ and the Christian life. In his Sermon on the Beatitudes, St. Leo the Great explains Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:1–9 to show Christians the path to true happiness and holiness. He presents Jesus as the new Moses, who gives the interior law of the New Covenant to heal and transform the human soul. His primary teaching is that lasting happiness comes not from wealth, power, or worldly success, but from becoming like Christ: humble and detached from possessions, sorrowful for sin, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure of heart, and committed to peace. The Beatitudes therefore describe both the graces God gives us and the Christlike people He calls us to become. Jeremiah was one of the great Old Testament prophets, called by God while still young to preach to the people of Judah during the turbulent decades leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC. His central teaching is that God desires more than outward religious practice—He wants our hearts: when His people turn away from Him and place their security in wealth, power, false gods, or human institutions, destruction follows, but God never abandons them; He continually calls them to repentance and promises forgiveness, restoration, and a transformed heart capable of truly knowing and loving Him. Taken together, these two readings teach that true peace comes from loving God's law, trusting His wisdom, and obeying Him even when His direction conflicts with our fears or personal desires. In our first reading Jeremiah gives the surviving people God's clear instruction to remain in Judah and trust His protection, but fear leads them to reject His word and flee to Egypt instead; in our "treasure" today from his sermon on the Beatitudes, Leo the Great teaches that the peace promised by Christ belongs to those whose hearts have been brought into harmony with God through love, obedience, and holiness. Together they teach that peace is not simply the absence of trouble or the security of controlling our circumstances; it is the interior peace that comes from surrendering our fears and our own plans to God, trusting His word, and faithfully doing His will—even when obedience seems difficult, uncertain, or contrary to what we think will make us secure.