Ashley Noronha joined John Morales on Morning Air to reflect on Pope Leo XIV’s Wednesday General Audience from December 17, delivered in the final days of the Jubilee Year as Christmas marks the new liturgical year. The Holy Father returned to a theme that has marked much of his preaching over the past year: Christian hope, rooted not in optimism or comfort, but in Christ Himself.
As Christmas approaches, Pope Leo acknowledged a reality familiar to every listener. Each human heart carries a deep longing for meaning, yet that longing is often dulled by the pace and pressure of daily life. Work, responsibilities, and constant noise can crowd out the deeper questions of why we live and where we are going. The Pope cautioned that when life becomes reduced to schedules and productivity, the soul grows restless, not because it is failing, but because it is searching.
Drawing on the wisdom of St. Augustine, Pope Leo reminded the faithful that true rest is found only in God. No earthly success, relationship, or comfort can fully satisfy the heart. That satisfaction comes from belonging to Christ, who alone anchors hope in every circumstance of life. Even amid our ordinary routines the Pope emphasized that hope in Christ is strengthened, not diminished.
Pope Leo spoke about what he described as a holy restlessness, frequently misdiagnosed as a problem to be solved or a sign of dissatisfaction. The Holy Father proposed a different understanding. This inner unease reveals that the soul is oriented toward something greater than what the world can offer. The human heart, created for eternity, resists being satisfied by what is temporary.
This holy restlessness becomes a source of peace when it is rightly understood. It directs the soul toward heaven, reminding us that we are pilgrims rather than settlers. Christmas itself proclaims this truth: God enters human history not to remove all struggle, but to give it meaning. In Christ, hope remains present in every depth of daily life, even when our burdens are heavy.
Ashley and John also reflected on the personal closeness many Catholics feel with Pope Leo, particularly as a native midwesterner speaking English with an American accent. Hearing the Holy Father speak in familiar language, with the cadence and expressions of American English, has fostered a sense of accessibility and warmth. Without diminishing the weight of his office, it allows many to hear his teachings with a sense of shared experience and trust. He speaks as a shepherd who understands the rhythms of everyday life, because he has lived them.
As the Church moves from the close of the Jubilee Year into the joy of Christmas, Pope Leo’s message offers a steady invitation. The restlessness of the heart is not something to escape but something to entrust to God. In doing so, the faithful discover that hope is not postponed until heaven, but already at work, quietly shaping lives that rest in Christ while journeying toward their final home.