Timmerie is all in on our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV... and not just because he’s the first American Pope (though whoa, how cool is that?!). This episode of Trending with Timmerie feels like a heart-to-heart over coffee and YouTube reels, as she unpacks Pope Leo’s first homily and what it means for you and me.

 

Here’s what you need to know 

 

 

A Pope Who Gets It

 

Timmerie kicks off by sharing her joy, and honestly, her giddiness about Pope Leo. Her four-year-old is already obsessed (“He’s so cute!”), and it’s contagious. Timmerie talks about the homily from his inauguration Mass and what it reveals about his vision as our spiritual papa.

 

 

Pope Leo’s Big Theme: Holiness Through Sacrificial Love

 

Pope Leo is setting the tone: he’s calling us to holiness... not by climbing a ladder of success or checking off boxes, but by sacrificial love. That’s the kind of love Christ modeled, and it's the love Peter was called into. Guess what?! You and I are called into it too.

 

 

Love + Unity = The Mission

 

Quoting St. Augustine, Pope Leo reminds us that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. We were made for Divine Love. That restlessness we feel is a hunger for the sacrificial, unshakable love of Christ.

 

Pope Leo connects this to Peter's calling: to be a fisher of men, pulling souls from “the waters of evil and death.” This is a battle cry. Pope Leo wants to rescue souls (our souls) by anchoring us in God’s unshakable love.

 

 

St. Peter's Call Is Our Call

 

The homily goes into that famous post-Resurrection moment when Jesus asks Peter three times:

“Do you love me?”

 

Here’s the twist:

 

-Jesus uses the Greek word for sacrificial love.

 

-Peter responds with the Greek word for friendly love.

 

It's awkward... but deeply human. Jesus is inviting Peter into deeper love, total self-giving love. Eventually, Peter gets it. He dies upside-down on a cross because he felt unworthy to die like Christ. That’s love. That’s leadership.

 

 

The Church’s Call: Not Just “Nice,” but Holy

 

Pope Leo quotes St. Augustine again to say the Church isn’t just a group of people who “get along.” It’s people who are radically united in loving their neighbor sacrificially: no fluff, no half-measures.

 

So, Pope Leo’s message is to stop playing Church. Let’s be the Church.

 

 

Takeaway from Timmerie:

 

Pray for Pope Leo. Read his homilies. And most of all, join him in this mission. The path to holiness isn’t glamorous, but it’s epic. And now we’ve got a Holy Father who’s not just talking the talk; he’s walking with us every step.

 

 

So… ready to be a fisher of souls with the Pope?