VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV told the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square on Oct. 25 that love of God and love of neighbor cannot be separated.

Speaking during the Sunday Angelus, the Pope reflected on Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Saint Matthew about the greatest commandment. He said love stands at the center of the relationship between God and humanity, and that love for God must extend into care for other people.

“We cannot truly love God unless this love overflows into love for our brothers and sisters,” Pope Leo said.

The Pope said God seeks a personal relationship with each person rather than a merely abstract acknowledgment. “The Lord seeks a personal relationship with us: the one true God wants to become our God,” he said.

Because love cannot be imposed as an external command, authentic human love responds to the love that comes from God, Pope Leo said. He added that Jesus’ commands to love God and one’s neighbor arise from the same source.

According to the Pope, love also changes how people understand themselves and those around them, enabling them to see both through the eyes of Christ. He described love as the element that gives faith its essence.

Pope Leo invited the faithful to pray for a new heart capable of living the greatest commandment. He entrusted that prayer to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.