Pope Leo XIV says 'Dig' for Life's Greatest Treasure "the Kingdom of God" - FULL TEXT at the Jubilee Audience
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Pope Leo resumes the special Saturday Jubilee Audiences this morning and focuses his catechesis on when Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.”
JUBILEE AUDIENCE
CATECHESIS OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV
St. Peter 's Square
Saturday , September 6, 2025
___________________________________
Catechesis. 1. To hope is to dig. Helen the Empress
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Welcome to all of you pilgrims, who have come to Rome from so many different places. In this city rich in history, we can be strengthened in faith, charity, and hope. Today we will focus on a particular aspect of hope.
I'd like to begin with a memory: as children, putting our hands in the earth had a special fascination. We remember it, and perhaps we still observe it: it's good for us to watch children play! Digging into the earth, breaking the hard crust of the world and seeing what lies beneath...
What Jesus describes in the parable of the treasure in the field (cf. Mt 13:44) is no longer child's play, yet the joy of surprise is the same. And the Lord tells us: this is the Kingdom of God. Indeed, this is how the Kingdom of God is found. Hope is rekindled when we dig and break the crust of reality, when we go beneath the surface.
Today I would like to recall with you that, as soon as they had the freedom to live publicly as Christians, Jesus' disciples began to dig, particularly in the places of his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Eastern and Western Tradition remembers Flavia Julia Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, as the soul of those searches. A woman who seeks. A woman who digs. The treasure that ignites hope is, in fact, the life of Jesus: we must follow in his footsteps.
How many other things an empress could have done! What noble places she could have preferred to peripheral Jerusalem. How many pleasures and honors of court. We too, sisters and brothers, can rest easy in our achieved positions and in the riches, greater or lesser, that give us security. Thus we lose the joy we had as children, that desire to delve and invent that makes every day new. "Invent"—you know—in Latin means "to find." Helena's great "invention" was the discovery of the Holy Cross. Here is the hidden treasure for which she sold everything! The Cross of Jesus is life's greatest discovery, the value that changes all values.
Helena could understand this, perhaps, because she had long carried her own cross. She was not born at court: it is said that she was an innkeeper of humble origins, with whom the future emperor Constantius fell in love. He married her, but for reasons of power, he did not hesitate to divorce her, separating her from her son Constantine for years. Once emperor, Constantine himself brought her no small amount of pain and disappointment, but Helena was always herself: a woman searching. She had decided to become a Christian and always practiced charity, never forgetting the humble people from whom she herself came.
Such dignity and fidelity to conscience, dear brothers and sisters, change the world even today: they bring us closer to the treasure, like the work of a farmer. Cultivating one's heart requires effort. It is the greatest work. But by digging we find it; by lowering ourselves we draw ever closer to that Lord who emptied himself to become like us. His Cross is beneath the crust of our earth.
We can walk proudly, absentmindedly trampling the treasure beneath our feet. If, however, we become like children, we will experience another Kingdom, another strength. God is always beneath us, to lift us up.
_________________________
Greetings
I cordially greet the people of the French language, especially the pilgrims from Senegal, accompanied by the old Monseigneur Paul Abel Mamba, and other people from France. Brothers and sisters, the Seigneur calls us to enter their son Royaume with the simplicity of the little children, demandons-lui aujourd'hui the grace of becoming like them. So God bless you!
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today's Audience, particularly the groups from Uganda and the United States of America. I pray that this Jubilee may be a time of spiritual renewal, rekindling our hope for the forgiveness of our sins, for the help of God's grace and for life everlasting. Upon all of you and your families, I invoke the strength and peace of Jesus Christ. God bless you!
[ Dear German-speaking brothers and sisters, your Jubilee pilgrimage takes place under the sign of the Cross, with which Christ defeated evil. Let us always keep at the center of our lives this symbol of our hope, which comes to us from Christ, our Redeemer .]
I cordially greet the pilgrims of the Spanish language, especially the groups coming from Spain and Latin America. I invite you to always remain in the attitude of pursuit, so that we can encounter the treasure that God offers us. May the Lord bless you. Much thanks.
* * *
I extend a cordial welcome to the Italian-speaking faithful, especially those from the following dioceses: Ascoli Piceno, San Benedetto del Tronto-Ripatransone-Montalto, with Archbishop Giampiero Palmieri; Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi-Conza-Nusco-Bisaccia, with its Archbishop, Most Rev. Pasquale Cascio; and Lodi, with Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti. I hope that your Jubilee pilgrimage will be a source of inspiration, fostering the desire to be bearers of Christian hope and joy in the Church and society.
I also greet the parish groups, especially those from Ruvo di Puglia, Archi, and Francavilla in Sinni; as well as the Formedil Italia organization and Edizioni Frate Indovino.
Finally, my thoughts go to the sick, newlyweds, and young people, among whom I affectionately greet the students of the Marcello Candia Institute in Seregno, the Scouts of Varese, and those of Agropoli and Padua. The liturgical feast of the day after tomorrow, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, prompts me to urge you to always walk, like Mary, on the paths of the Lord.
My blessing to everyone!
CATECHESIS OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV
St. Peter 's Square
Saturday , September 6, 2025
___________________________________
Catechesis. 1. To hope is to dig. Helen the Empress
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Welcome to all of you pilgrims, who have come to Rome from so many different places. In this city rich in history, we can be strengthened in faith, charity, and hope. Today we will focus on a particular aspect of hope.
I'd like to begin with a memory: as children, putting our hands in the earth had a special fascination. We remember it, and perhaps we still observe it: it's good for us to watch children play! Digging into the earth, breaking the hard crust of the world and seeing what lies beneath...
What Jesus describes in the parable of the treasure in the field (cf. Mt 13:44) is no longer child's play, yet the joy of surprise is the same. And the Lord tells us: this is the Kingdom of God. Indeed, this is how the Kingdom of God is found. Hope is rekindled when we dig and break the crust of reality, when we go beneath the surface.
Today I would like to recall with you that, as soon as they had the freedom to live publicly as Christians, Jesus' disciples began to dig, particularly in the places of his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Eastern and Western Tradition remembers Flavia Julia Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, as the soul of those searches. A woman who seeks. A woman who digs. The treasure that ignites hope is, in fact, the life of Jesus: we must follow in his footsteps.
How many other things an empress could have done! What noble places she could have preferred to peripheral Jerusalem. How many pleasures and honors of court. We too, sisters and brothers, can rest easy in our achieved positions and in the riches, greater or lesser, that give us security. Thus we lose the joy we had as children, that desire to delve and invent that makes every day new. "Invent"—you know—in Latin means "to find." Helena's great "invention" was the discovery of the Holy Cross. Here is the hidden treasure for which she sold everything! The Cross of Jesus is life's greatest discovery, the value that changes all values.
Helena could understand this, perhaps, because she had long carried her own cross. She was not born at court: it is said that she was an innkeeper of humble origins, with whom the future emperor Constantius fell in love. He married her, but for reasons of power, he did not hesitate to divorce her, separating her from her son Constantine for years. Once emperor, Constantine himself brought her no small amount of pain and disappointment, but Helena was always herself: a woman searching. She had decided to become a Christian and always practiced charity, never forgetting the humble people from whom she herself came.
Such dignity and fidelity to conscience, dear brothers and sisters, change the world even today: they bring us closer to the treasure, like the work of a farmer. Cultivating one's heart requires effort. It is the greatest work. But by digging we find it; by lowering ourselves we draw ever closer to that Lord who emptied himself to become like us. His Cross is beneath the crust of our earth.
We can walk proudly, absentmindedly trampling the treasure beneath our feet. If, however, we become like children, we will experience another Kingdom, another strength. God is always beneath us, to lift us up.
_________________________
Greetings
I cordially greet the people of the French language, especially the pilgrims from Senegal, accompanied by the old Monseigneur Paul Abel Mamba, and other people from France. Brothers and sisters, the Seigneur calls us to enter their son Royaume with the simplicity of the little children, demandons-lui aujourd'hui the grace of becoming like them. So God bless you!
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today's Audience, particularly the groups from Uganda and the United States of America. I pray that this Jubilee may be a time of spiritual renewal, rekindling our hope for the forgiveness of our sins, for the help of God's grace and for life everlasting. Upon all of you and your families, I invoke the strength and peace of Jesus Christ. God bless you!
[ Dear German-speaking brothers and sisters, your Jubilee pilgrimage takes place under the sign of the Cross, with which Christ defeated evil. Let us always keep at the center of our lives this symbol of our hope, which comes to us from Christ, our Redeemer .]
I cordially greet the pilgrims of the Spanish language, especially the groups coming from Spain and Latin America. I invite you to always remain in the attitude of pursuit, so that we can encounter the treasure that God offers us. May the Lord bless you. Much thanks.
* * *
I extend a cordial welcome to the Italian-speaking faithful, especially those from the following dioceses: Ascoli Piceno, San Benedetto del Tronto-Ripatransone-Montalto, with Archbishop Giampiero Palmieri; Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi-Conza-Nusco-Bisaccia, with its Archbishop, Most Rev. Pasquale Cascio; and Lodi, with Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti. I hope that your Jubilee pilgrimage will be a source of inspiration, fostering the desire to be bearers of Christian hope and joy in the Church and society.
I also greet the parish groups, especially those from Ruvo di Puglia, Archi, and Francavilla in Sinni; as well as the Formedil Italia organization and Edizioni Frate Indovino.
Finally, my thoughts go to the sick, newlyweds, and young people, among whom I affectionately greet the students of the Marcello Candia Institute in Seregno, the Scouts of Varese, and those of Agropoli and Padua. The liturgical feast of the day after tomorrow, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, prompts me to urge you to always walk, like Mary, on the paths of the Lord.
My blessing to everyone!
ENGLISH Summary READ by Pope Leo XIV in English
Dear brothers and sisters, today we reflected more deeply on the gift of hope. Like children digging in the earth, we are called to dig beneath the surface of life with curiosity and trust to discover the hidden treasure of God’s Kingdom. Once freed from persecution, the early Christians began to excavate the land in places connected to Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. Among them was the mother of Emperor Constantine, Empress Helena, who, motivated by her humble faith, found Jesus’ cross in Jerusalem. Let us imitate her example by rekindling in our hearts the desire to clear away hardness and pride, uncovering the greatest treasure of all: friendship with the Lord Jesus.
***Source: Vatican.va
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