Pope Leo XIV issues Dilexi te (“I have loved you”)
The first Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate is focussed on love for the poor.
Pope Leo XIV has issued an Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te, which means “I have loved you”.
It is his first Apostolic Exhortation and is focused on love for the poor. The Exhortation builds on the final encyclical of Pope Francis, Dilexit nos, on the human and divine love of the Sacred Heart of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Exhortation, Pope Leo XIV said:
“Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor. The same Jesus who tells us, “The poor you will always have with you” (Mt 26:11), also promises the disciples: “I am with you always” (Mt 28:20). We likewise think of his saying: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.”
On Christian love, the Holy Father said:
"Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits. It makes what was apparently impossible happen. Love is above all a way of looking at life and a way of living it. A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today."
On love for the poor, Pope Leo said:
Jesus’ teaching on the primacy of love for God is clearly complemented by his insistence that one cannot love God without extending one’s love to the poor. Love for our neighbour is tangible proof of the authenticity of our love for God.
In a call to us all to be people of love, Pope Leo said, "a Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today". He added:
"Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus’ words are addressed personally to each of them: “I have loved you”."
You can read the full document here.
Photo credit: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk
