Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV resumed the special Saturday Jubilee Audiences this morning, reflecting on the Gospel image of a hidden treasure and reminding the faithful that the greatest treasure is nothing less than the life of Jesus Himself.
Speaking in St. Peter’s Square before thousands of pilgrims, the Pope meditated on the words of Christ: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.” He drew a parallel between the childlike fascination with digging into the earth and the spiritual search for God’s kingdom. “Children are drawn to break the crust of the soil to discover what lies beneath,” he observed. “So too is the Kingdom of God uncovered when we pierce through the surface of our daily realities. Hope is rekindled when we dare to dig deeper.”
In his catechesis, Pope Leo turned to the figure of St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, who is remembered by tradition as the woman who sponsored the excavations in the Holy Land that led to the discovery of the relics of the Passion. The Pope described her as “a woman who seeks, a woman who digs,” one who never ceased searching for Christ amid the trials of her life.
Though born into humble circumstances and acquainted with sorrow and disappointment, Helena’s steadfast Christian faith and love for the poor made her an enduring example of dignity and perseverance. “She never forgot her own roots,” the Pope said, “and her fidelity to Christ allowed her to discover treasures that still speak to us today.”
Drawing inspiration from Helena’s journey, Pope Leo emphasized that cultivating the heart is a labor of faith: “The work of tilling one’s own heart requires effort, but by digging we find; by humbling ourselves, we come closer to the Lord who humbled Himself to become one of us.” He recalled that St. Helena’s excavations revealed the Cross, a powerful reminder that even beneath the earth’s crust lies the sign of salvation.
The Pope warned, however, against overlooking this hidden treasure. “It is always possible to trample heedlessly upon the treasure beneath our feet,” he cautioned. Yet he encouraged the faithful to recover the childlike spirit of wonder: “If we become like children, we will come to know another kingdom, another strength. God is always beneath us, ready to raise us on high.”
As the Jubilee progresses, Pope Leo’s teaching highlighted a central theme: that the Kingdom of God is not distant, but waiting to be discovered beneath the surface of ordinary life. The life of Jesus, he insisted, is the treasure that sustains Christian hope.
“By digging through the hardness of our lives and remaining faithful to our search,” he concluded, “we find the treasure that never fades Christ Himself.”