OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Let us love, not with words but with deeds.” (1 John 3:18)
With this scriptural passage, Pope Francis established the first World Day of the Poor, Nov. 19, the last Sunday before Thanksgiving. This is also the weekend for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development collection in all parishes. Therefore it is fitting to take this time to “give thanks” for God’s blessings revealed in Jesus, experienced with the poor.
In his message for the World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis calls us to “a true encounter with the poor and a sharing that becomes a way of life. … This way of life gives rise to joy and peace of soul, because we touch with our own hands the flesh of Christ. We are called to draw near to the poor, to encounter them, to meet their gaze, to embrace them and to let them feel the warmth of love that breaks through their solitude. … Their outstretched hand is an invitation to step out of our certainties and comforts.”
Our Holy Father says, “If we want to help change history and promote real development, we need to hear the cry of the poor and commit ourselves to ending their marginalization. We know how hard it is for our contemporary world to see poverty clearly for what it is. Yet in myriad ways poverty challenges us daily, in faces marked by suffering, marginalization, oppression, violence, torture and imprisonment, war, deprivation of freedom and dignity, ignorance and illiteracy, medical emergencies and shortage of work, trafficking and slavery, exile, extreme poverty and forced migration. Poverty has the face of women, men and children exploited by base interests, crushed by the machinations of power and money.”
Pope Francis states, “I wanted to offer the church a World Day of the Poor, so that throughout the world Christian communities can become an ever greater sign of Christ’s charity for the least and those most in need. … I invite the whole church, and men and women of good will everywhere, to turn their gaze on this day to all those who stretch out their hands and plead for our help and solidarity. They are our brothers and sisters, created and loved by the one Heavenly Father.”
Our Holy Father concludes, “This Sunday, if there are poor people where we live who seek protection and assistance, let us draw close to them: it will be a favorable moment to encounter the God we seek. Following the teaching of Scripture, let us welcome them as honored guests at our table; they can be teachers who help us live the faith more consistently. With their trust and readiness to receive help, they show us in a quiet and often joyful way, how essential it is to live simply and to abandon ourselves to God’s providence. … This new World Day, therefore, should become a powerful appeal to our consciences as believers, allowing us to grow in the conviction that sharing with the poor enables us to understand the deepest truth of the Gospel. The poor are not a problem: they are a resource from which to draw as we strive to accept and practice in our lives the essence of the Gospel.”
We hope these inspiring words of Pope Francis for the first World Day of the Poor will inspire all to support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development collection and to share our thanks-giving celebrations with the poor, so that all of us in need may truly experience God’s “love in deeds.” Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
