This is, according to the Pope, "the treasure that Jesus entrusted His friends with, at the end of His short life on earth", and that must be received with a very specific "inner attitude". "The wrong attitude warned the Holy Father is one of fear: the servant who is afraid of his master and fears his return hides the coin underground, and it bears no fruit. This is what happens, for example, to those who, having received Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, then hide such gifts under a blanket of prejudice, under a false image of God that paralyses faith and deeds, so as to fail to come up to the Lord’s expectations". But the parable told by Matthew "places more emphasis on the good fruits taken by the disciples, who, glad about the gift they received, did not keep it hidden in fear and jealousy, but made it bear fruit, sharing it, partaking of it". "What Christ gave us is multiplied as we share it!", warned the Pope: "It is a treasure that is made to be spent, invested, shared with anyone, as taught by that great administrator of Jesus’ talents who is the apostle Paul". Such evangelical lesson, according to Benedict XVI, "has had a historical-social impact too, promoting an active, independent mentality in the Christian populations", but the focal message "concerns the spirit of responsibility with which the Kingdom of God should be received".
