World Day of the Poor
“Do not look away from the poor” (Tb 4:7)
Pope Francis, at the conclusion of the 2016 Jubilee of Mercy, strongly desired the World Day of the Poor, to urge the Church and the faithful to “go out” and encounter poverty in the various meanings in which in the modern world it manifests itself and extend a hand toward those most in need. For this seventh edition, Pope Francis spurs us on with a very strong message inspired by the Book of Tobiah that teaches the concreteness of mercy in acting with and for the poor:
“when we stand before a poor man
we cannot look away,
for we would prevent ourselves from meeting the face of the Lord Jesus.”
Download the message:www.vatican.va
Image: www.donorione.it
Today is an occasion for Pope Francis to commemorate two anniversaries that are particularly significant from the point of view of the relationship with the poor and their right to charity
Photo: www.vaticannews.va
The 60th anniversary of the Encyclical Pacem in Terris, by the holy Pope John XXIII when he wrote: “Every human being has the right to existence, to physical integrity, to the indispensable and sufficient means for a decent standard of living, especially with regard to food, clothing, housing, rest, medical care, and necessary social services; and therefore he has the right to security in case of sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, unemployment, and in any other case of loss of the means of subsistence due to circumstances beyond his control.”
Photo: www.maranatha.it
This year – Pope Francis reminds us again – «marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. In a page of her ‘Story of a Soul’ she writes: “Now I understand that perfect charity consists in bearing the faults of others, not being absolutely amazed at their weaknesses, edifying oneself in the smallest acts of virtue that we see them practise, but above all I have understood that charity must not remain closed at the bottom of the heart”».
Today, tomorrow, always, we are called
to meet every poor person and every kind of poverty, shaking indifference from us.
