Works of mercy are best way to invest what God gave you, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While giving money to charity is a good thing, God expects Christians to do more by giving of themselves to help others, Pope Leo XIV said.

"It is not simply a matter of sharing the material goods we have, but putting our skills, time, love, presence and compassion at the service of others," the pope told thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square Aug. 10 for the recitation of the Angelus prayer.

Commenting on the day's Gospel reading, Luke 12:32-48, the pope focused on how Jesus invites his followers to "invest" the treasure that is their lives.

"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," he said. "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."

"The works of mercy are the most secure and profitable bank" for investing those treasures and talents, the pope said, "because there, as the Gospel teaches us, with 'two small copper coins' even the poor widow becomes the richest person in the world."

Pope Leo urged people to be attentive so that no matter whether they are at home or work or in their parish they do not "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," the pope said.