Vatican City: During his Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to reflect deeply on how they are using the “treasure” of their lives, inviting them to invest it generously in love, mercy, and service to others.
Reflecting on the Gospel of Luke, the Pope recalled Jesus’ command, “Sell what you own and give alms,” stressing that Christians are called not to hoard the blessings they have received from God, but to share them freely for the benefit of others, especially the poor and vulnerable.
“This is not only about material possessions,” Pope Leo explained, “but also about offering our talents, our time, our care, our presence, and our compassion.” Each person, he said, is “a living, beating treasure in God’s plan” a gift that must be nurtured and invested, or else it risks withering away.
He warned that this treasure can be wasted or even exploited by those “who, like a thief, turn it into a mere object of consumption.” To flourish, he said, God’s gift within each person needs freedom, space, relationship, and above all, love the force that transforms and elevates every part of life, drawing us closer to God.
Recalling that Jesus spoke these words while journeying to Jerusalem to give Himself fully on the Cross, the Pope described the works of mercy as “the most secure and fruitful bank” in which to deposit the treasure of our lives. Even the smallest gesture, he noted, can hold immeasurable worth just as the widow in the Gospel, offering two tiny coins, became “the richest person in the world.”
Quoting Saint Augustine, the Pope reflected: “While people may rejoice to exchange bronze for silver or silver for gold, what is given in love brings something infinitely greater eternal life. And it changes the giver in the process.”
Pope Leo drew examples from daily life the tenderness of a mother holding her child, the joy of two people in love who feel like royalty simply by being together to show that love transforms ordinary moments into treasures.
He encouraged all believers to be alert and attentive, ready to act with kindness wherever they are at home, in the parish, at school, or in the workplace. “This is the vigilance Jesus calls us to: being sensitive to one another, just as He is constantly attentive to us,” the Pope said.
Concluding his address, Pope Leo entrusted this desire to Mary, “the Morning Star,” asking her intercession so that Christians may be “sentinels of mercy and peace” in today’s fractured world.