In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I have loved you”), Pope Leo XIV invites the faithful to rediscover almsgiving as an essential act of Christian life and a tangible expression of love for God and neighbor. The Holy Father writes that, even in a world of complex social systems and organized aid programs, almsgiving retains a unique power: it draws us close to the poor, allows us to meet Christ in them, and transforms our own hearts.

The Pope acknowledges that true charity does not replace justice. “Those inspired by true charity know full well that almsgiving does not absolve the competent authorities of their responsibilities,” he writes. Yet, he insists that personal acts of generosity remain indispensable. Almsgiving, however modest, “offers us a chance to halt before the poor, to look into their eyes, to touch them and to share something of ourselves with them.” In a society marked by haste and the pursuit of profit, such gestures bring what he calls “a touch of pietas,” restoring human tenderness to the world.

Pope Leo’s exhortation situates this call within Scripture’s long praise of charity. The Book of Sirach urges the faithful not to delay in offering aid to those in humble circumstances, while the Gospel of Luke records Christ’s command to “sell your possessions and give alms.” Saints of the early Church, too, echoed this teaching. Saint John Chrysostom described almsgiving as “the wing of prayer,” and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus exhorted Christians to honor Christ by caring for Him in the poor, feeding and clothing Him with mercy rather than empty sacrifice.

Throughout Dilexi Te, Pope Leo presents almsgiving as a remedy for modern indifference. While he affirms that the most dignified way to assist the poor is by providing opportunities for honest work, he also warns that in many cases this ideal remains out of reach. Until just structures and stable employment are available to all, “we cannot risk abandoning others to the fate of lacking the necessities for a dignified life.” Almsgiving, therefore, remains a vital bridge of encounter and empathy with those who suffer deprivation.

The Pope connects this practice to the formation of a rightly ordered Christian life. “Our love and our deepest convictions need to be continually cultivated,” he writes, “and we do so through our concrete actions.” Faith that remains abstract, detached from practical works of mercy, withers over time. The repetition of small acts of giving, he explains, prevents hearts from hardening and keeps Christian hope alive in an increasingly self-centered culture.

For Pope Leo, almsgiving does not simply benefit its recipient. It is an act that changes the giver as well. “Whatever form it may take,” he writes, “almsgiving will touch and soften our hardened hearts.” Though it will never, by itself, eradicate poverty, it remains a sign of grace in a world often marked by isolation and indifference.

In his concluding reflection, the Pope returns to the heart of the Christian mystery: that divine love always seeks the human person. “Christian love breaks down every barrier,” he writes, “brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies.” The Church’s mission, he reminds us, is to make that love visible through real gestures of mercy. Each act of almsgiving, no matter how small, becomes an echo of Christ’s words to every soul: “I have loved you.”