Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The gestures that the Church defines as corporal and spiritual Works of mercy “are the most secure and profitable bank where we can entrust the treasure of our existence,” because if we practice them, as the Gospel teaches, “two small copper coins” even the poor widow becomes the richest person in the world,” Pope Leo XIV affirmed today in his brief catechesis before the Sunday Angelus prayer with the pilgrims and faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.In his address from the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV referred to the passage from the Gospel of Luke in the Gospel for Sunday, August 10, in which Jesus “invites us to consider how we should invest the treasure that is our life.”Jesus, the Pope continued, exhorts his disciples “not to keep to ourselves the gifts that God has given us, but rather to use them generously for the good of others, especially those most in need of our help.” For “everything in God’s plan that makes each of us a priceless and unrepeatable good, a living and breathing asset, must be cultivated and invested in order to grow. Otherwise, these gifts dry up and diminish in value, or they end up being taken away by those, who like thieves, snatch them up as something simply to be consumed.”Therefore, the works of mercy are “the most secure and profitable bank where we can entrust the treasure of our existence, which one has received as a gift. “Saint Augustine,” Pope Leo recalled, “says in this regard: ‘If you gave a pound of coppers and received a pound of silver, or a pound of silver and received one of gold, you would be delighted at your luck. What you give will certainly be transformed; it isn’t gold, it isn’t silver, but eternal life that will come your way (Sermon 390, 2).’ And he explains why: ‘it will be transformed, because you yourself will be transformed (ibid.).’ And “to understand what this means,” the Successor of Peter continued, “we can think of a mother who embraces her children: is she not the most beautiful and richest person in the world? Or a boyfriend and girlfriend, when they are together: do they not feel like king and queen? We could think of many other examples.”Therefore, wherever we are, in the family, parish, school or workplace, “we should try not to miss any opportunity to act with love. This is the type of vigilance that Jesus asks of us: to grow in the habit of being attentive, ready and sensitive to one another, just as he is with us in every moment.”After the Angelus prayer, Leo XIV asked for continued prayer “for an end to wars. The 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” the Pope recalled, “has reawakened through the world the necessary rejection of war as a way to resolve conflicts, those who make decisions should always bear in mind their responsibility for the consequences of their choices on the populations, and not ignore the needs of the weakest and the universal desire for peace.”In this context, the Pope congratulated Armenia and Azerbaijan, who signed a joint declaration of peace in Washington on Friday, August 8, mediated by US President Donald Trump. The Pope then recalled the “increasingly desperate” situation of the Haitian population, from which there are repeated “reports of murders, acts of violence of all kinds, human trafficking, forced displacement, and kidnappings.” “I make an urgent appeal to all those responsible,” Pope Leo continued, “to release the hostages immediately and ask the international community for concrete support in creating social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace.” (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 10/8/2025)
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