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Full text of the Pope’s message for the World Day of the Poor

Pope’s message for the V World Day of the Poor

TEXT COMPLETE

“You always have the poor with you” (Mk 14,7)

1. “You always have the poor with you” (Mk 14,7). Jesus spoke these words in the context of a meal in Bethany, at the home of a certain Simon, called “the leper,” a few days before Easter. According to the evangelist, a woman entered with an alabaster bottle filled with a very valuable perfume and poured it on the head of Jesus. This gesture aroused great astonishment and led to two different interpretations.

The first was the indignation of some of those present, among them the disciples who, considering the value of the perfume – about 300 denarii, equivalent to the annual salary of a worker – thought that it would have been better to sell it and give the proceeds to the poor. According to the Gospel of John, it was Judas who interpreted this opinion: “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii to give to the poor?” And the evangelist points out: “He did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief and, since he had the money bag in common, he stole from what was thrown into it” (12.5-6). It is no coincidence that this harsh criticism comes from the mouth of the traitor, it is proof that those who do not recognize the poor betray the teaching of Jesus and cannot be his disciples. In this regard, we remember Origen’s forceful words: «Judas seemed to care for the poor […]. If now there is still someone who has the bag of the Church and speaks in favor of the poor like Judas, but then takes what they put inside, then, let him have his part with Judas »(Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, XI, 9 ).

The second interpretation was given by Jesus himself and allows us to capture the deep meaning of the gesture made by the woman. He said, “Leave her! Why are they bothering her? He has done a good work for me »(Mk 14,6). Jesus knew that his death was near and he saw in that gesture the anticipation of the anointing of his lifeless body before being deposed in the tomb. This vision goes beyond any expectations of the diners. Jesus reminds them that the first poor person is He, the poorest of the poor, because he represents them all. And it is also in the name of the poor, of the lonely, marginalized and discriminated against, that the Son of God accepted the gesture of that woman. She, with her feminine sensitivity, proved to be the only one who understood the Lord’s state of mind. This anonymous woman, perhaps destined for this reason to represent the entire female universe that throughout the centuries will have no voice and will suffer violence, inaugurated the significant presence of women who participate in the culminating moment of the life of Christ: his crucifixion, death and burial , and his appearance as Risen. Women, so often discriminated against and kept out of positions of responsibility, in the pages of the Gospels are, instead, protagonists in the history of revelation. And the final expression of Jesus, who associated this woman with the great evangelizing mission, is eloquent: «I assure you that, to honor her memory, in any part of the world where the Good News is proclaimed, what she has just done with me will be told »(Mk 14,9). inaugurated the significant presence of women who participate in the culminating moment of the life of Christ: his crucifixion, death and burial, and his appearance as Risen. Women, so often discriminated against and kept out of positions of responsibility, in the pages of the Gospels are, instead, protagonists in the history of revelation. And the final expression of Jesus, who associated this woman with the great evangelizing mission, is eloquent: «I assure you that, to honor her memory, in any part of the world where the Good News is proclaimed, what she has just done with me will be told »(Mk 14,9). inaugurated the significant presence of women who participate in the culminating moment of the life of Christ: his crucifixion, death and burial, and his appearance as Risen. Women, so often discriminated against and kept out of positions of responsibility, in the pages of the Gospels are, instead, protagonists in the history of revelation. And the final expression of Jesus, who associated this woman with the great evangelizing mission, is eloquent: «I assure you that, to honor her memory, in any part of the world where the Good News is proclaimed, what she has just done with me will be told »(Mk 14,9). so often discriminated against and kept out of positions of responsibility, in the pages of the Gospels they are, instead, protagonists in the history of revelation. And the final expression of Jesus, who associated this woman with the great evangelizing mission, is eloquent: «I assure you that, to honor her memory, in any part of the world where the Good News is proclaimed, what she has just done with me will be told »(Mk 14,9). so often discriminated against and kept out of positions of responsibility, in the pages of the Gospels they are, instead, protagonists in the history of revelation. And the final expression of Jesus, who associated this woman with the great evangelizing mission, is eloquent: «I assure you that, to honor her memory, in any part of the world where the Good News is proclaimed, what she has just done with me will be told »(Mk 14,9).

2. This strong “empathy” between Jesus and the woman, and the way in which He interpreted his anointing, in contrast to the scandalized vision of Judas and the others, opens a fruitful path of reflection on the inseparable bond that exists between Jesus , the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.

The face of God that He reveals, in fact, is that of a Father for the poor and close to the poor. All of Jesus’ work affirms that poverty is not the fruit of fatality, but rather a concrete sign of his presence among us. We do not find him when and where we want, but we recognize him in the lives of the poor, in their suffering and destitution, in the sometimes inhuman conditions in which they are forced to live. I never tire of repeating that the poor are true evangelizers because they were the first to be evangelized and called to share the blessedness of the Lord and his Kingdom (cf. Mt 5,3).

The poor of any condition and of any latitude evangelize us, because they allow us to rediscover in an ever new way the most genuine features of the Father’s face. «They have a lot to teach us. In addition to participating in the sensus fidei, in their own pain they know the suffering Christ. It is necessary that we all allow ourselves to be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to recognize the saving power of their lives and to place them at the center of the Church’s journey. We are called to discover Christ in them, to give them our voice in their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to interpret them and to collect the mysterious wisdom that God wants to communicate to us through them. Our commitment does not consist exclusively of actions or promotion and assistance programs; what the Spirit mobilizes is not an activist overflow, but above all an attention paid to the other “considering him as one with himself.” This loving care is the beginning of a true concern for his person, from which I wish to effectively seek his good »(Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 198-199).

3. Jesus is not only on the side of the poor, but he shares the same fate with them. This is an important lesson also for his disciples of all time. His words “you always have the poor with you” also indicate that their presence in our midst is constant, but that it should not lead us to become accustomed to indifference, but rather to involve ourselves in a sharing of life that does not admit delegations. . The poor are not people “external” to the community, but brothers and sisters with whom they can share their suffering in order to alleviate their discomfort and marginalization, to restore their lost dignity and ensure the necessary social inclusion. On the other hand, it is known that a charity work presupposes a benefactor and a beneficiary, while sharing generates fraternity. Almsgiving is occasional, while sharing is long-lasting. The first runs the risk of gratifying the person who performs it and humiliating the person who receives it; the second reinforces solidarity and lays the necessary foundations to achieve justice. Ultimately, when believers want to see and feel Jesus in person, they know where to turn, the poor are the sacrament of Christ, they represent his person and refer to him.

We have many examples of saints who have made sharing with the poor their project of life. I am thinking, among others, of Father Damien de Veuster, holy apostle of the lepers. With great generosity he responded to the call to go to the island of Molokai, turned into a ghetto accessible only to lepers, to live and die with them. He put his hands to work and did everything possible to make the life of those poor, sick and marginalized, reduced to extreme degradation, worth living. He became a doctor and a nurse, regardless of the risks he was running, and brought the light of love to that “colony of death”, as the island was called. Leprosy also affected him, a sign of total sharing with the brothers and sisters for whom he had given his life. His testimony is very current in our days, marked by the coronavirus pandemic.

4. We therefore need to adhere with full conviction to the Lord’s invitation: “Convert and believe in the Good News” (Mk 1,15). This conversion consists, first of all, in opening our hearts to recognize the many expressions of poverty and in manifesting the Kingdom of God through a lifestyle consistent with the faith that we profess. The poor are often seen as separate persons, as a category requiring a particular charitable service. Following Jesus implies, in this sense, a change of mentality, that is, accepting the challenge of sharing and participating. Becoming his disciples implies the option of not accumulating treasures on earth, which give the illusion of security that is actually fragile and ephemeral. Conversely,

The teaching of Jesus also in this case goes against the tide, because it promises what only the eyes of faith can see and experience with absolute certainty: «And everyone who leaves houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my cause will receive a hundred times more and inherit eternal life ”(Mt 19:29). If you do not choose to become poor from fleeting riches, worldly power and pride, you will never be able to give your life for love; a fragmentary existence will be lived, full of good intentions, but ineffective in transforming the world. It is, therefore, a matter of opening ourselves decisively to the grace of Christ, who can make us witnesses of his unlimited charity and restore credibility to our presence in the world.

5. The Gospel of Christ encourages us to be especially attentive to the poor and asks to recognize the multiple and too many forms of moral and social disorder that always generate new forms of poverty. It seems that the idea is being imposed that the poor are not only responsible for their condition, but that they constitute an intolerable burden for an economic system that puts the interests of some privileged categories at the center. A market that ignores or selects ethical principles creates inhumane conditions that overwhelm people who already live in precarious conditions. Thus, the creation of ever new traps of destitution and exclusion, produced by unscrupulous economic and financial actors, lacking in humanitarian sense and social responsibility, is witnessed.

Last year, in addition, another plague was added that subsequently produced poorer people: the pandemic. It continues to knock on the doors of millions of people and, when it does not bring suffering and death, it is still the bearer of poverty. The poor have grown disproportionately and, unfortunately, will continue to grow in the coming months. Some countries, because of the pandemic, are suffering very serious consequences, so that the most vulnerable people are deprived of basic necessities. The long lines in front of the soup kitchens are the tangible sign of this deterioration. A careful look demands that the most appropriate solutions be found to combat the virus on a global level, without targeting partisan interests. In particular, it is urgent to give concrete answers to those who suffer from unemployment, that dramatically hits many parents, women and young people. The social solidarity and generosity of which many people are capable, thank God, together with long-term human promotion projects, are making and will make a very important contribution at this juncture.

6. However, the question remains open, which is not obvious at all: how is it possible to give a tangible solution to the millions of poor who often find only indifference, or even annoyance, as an answer? What path of justice must be followed so that social inequalities are overcome and human dignity, so often trampled, is restored? An individualistic lifestyle is complicit in the generation of poverty, and often places all responsibility for their condition on the poor. However, poverty is not the fruit of fate but the consequence of selfishness. Therefore, it is decisive to give life to development processes in which the capacities of all are valued, so that the complementarity of competences and the diversity of functions give rise to a common resource for participation. There are many poverties of the “rich” that could be cured by the wealth of the “poor”, if only they were found and known! No one is so poor that he cannot give something of himself in reciprocity. The poor cannot just be the recipients; You have to put them in a condition to be able to give, because they know well how to reciprocate. How many examples of sharing are before our eyes! The poor often teach us solidarity and sharing. It is true, they are people who lack something, often they lack much and even what is necessary, but they do not lack everything, because they preserve the dignity of children of God that nothing and no one can take away from them. No one is so poor that he cannot give something of himself in reciprocity. The poor cannot just be the recipients; You have to put them in a position to give, because they know well how to reciprocate. How many examples of sharing are before our eyes! The poor often teach us solidarity and sharing. It is true, they are people who lack something, often they lack much and even what is necessary, but they do not lack everything, because they preserve the dignity of children of God that nothing and no one can take away from them. No one is so poor that he cannot give something of himself in reciprocity. The poor cannot just be the recipients; You have to put them in a condition to be able to give, because they know well how to reciprocate. How many examples of sharing are before our eyes! The poor often teach us solidarity and sharing. It is true, they are people who lack something, often they lack much and even what is necessary, but they do not lack everything, because they preserve the dignity of children of God that nothing and no one can take away from them.

7. That is why a different approach to poverty is required. It is a challenge that governments and world institutions must face with a forward-looking social model, capable of responding to the new forms of poverty that affect the world and that will decisively mark the next decades. If the poor are marginalized, as if they were to blame for their condition, then the very concept of democracy is put into crisis and all social policy becomes a failure. With great humility we should confess that when it comes to the poor we are often incompetent. We talk about them in the abstract, we stop at the statistics and think about causing a commotion with a documentary. Poverty, on the other hand, should prompt creative planning, that allows to increase the effective freedom to be able to carry out the existence with the own capacities of each person. To think that freedom is granted and increased by the possession of money is an illusion from which one must move away. Serving the poor effectively encourages action and makes it possible to find the most appropriate means to lift up and promote this part of humanity, too often anonymous and voiceless, but imprinted with the face of the Savior asking for help.

8. “You always have the poor with you” (Mk 14,7). It is an invitation to never lose sight of the opportunity to do good. In the background you can glimpse the ancient biblical mandate: “If there were a poor brother among your family, do not be inhuman and do not deny your help to your poor brother. On the contrary, reach out to him and lend him what he needs, what he lacks. […] You will lend him, and not reluctantly, because that is why the Lord, your God, will bless you in everything you do and undertake. Since there will be no shortage of the poor on earth »(Dt 15.7-8.10-11). The apostle Paul is in the same line when he exhorts the Christians of their communities to help the poor of the first community of Jerusalem and to do so “not reluctantly or out of obligation, because God loves those who give with joy” (2 Co 9.7).

In this context it is also good to remember the words of Saint John Chrysostom: “He who is generous should not demand an account of his behavior, but only improve the condition of poverty and satisfy the need. The poor have only one defense: their poverty and the condition of need in which they find themselves. Don’t ask him for anything more; but even if he were the most evil man in the world, if he lacks the necessary food, let us free him from hunger. […] The merciful man is a port for those who are in need: the port welcomes and frees all shipwrecked from danger; be they evil, good, or however they are in danger, the port protects them within its bay. Therefore, you too, when you see a man on land who has suffered the shipwreck of poverty, do not judge, do not hold an account of his conduct,

9. It is crucial that sensitivity be increased to understand the needs of the poor, in constant change such as living conditions. In fact, today, in the most economically developed areas of the world, people are less willing than in the past to face poverty. The state of relative well-being to which one is accustomed makes it more difficult to accept sacrifices and deprivation. You are capable of anything, as long as you do not lose what has been the result of an easy conquest. Thus, it falls into forms of resentment, spasmodic nervousness, claims that lead to fear, anguish and, in some cases, violence. This should not be the criterion on which the future is built; however, these are also forms of poverty from which you cannot look away. We must be open to reading the signs of the times that express new ways of being evangelizers in the contemporary world. Immediate help to meet the needs of the poor should not prevent us from being proactive in putting into practice new signs of Christian love and charity in response to the new forms of poverty experienced by humanity today.

I hope that the World Day of the Poor, which is now in its fifth edition, will increasingly take root in our local Churches and open up to a movement of evangelization that first reaches out to the poor, wherever they may be. We cannot wait for them to knock on our door, it is urgent that we go to find them in their homes, in hospitals and in care homes, in the streets and in the dark corners where they sometimes hide, in refuge centers and reception … It is important to understand how they feel, what they perceive and what desires they have in their hearts. Let us make our own the urgent words of Don Primo Mazzolari: «I would like to ask you not to ask me if there are poor people, who they are and how many there are, because I fear that such questions represent a distraction or the pretext to depart from a precise indication of the conscience and the heart. […] I have never counted the poor, because they cannot be counted: the poor are embraced, they are not counted »(“ Adesso ”n. 7 – 15 April 1949). The poor are among us. How evangelical it would be if we could say with all truth: we too are poor, because only in this way will we be able to truly recognize them and make them part of our lives and instruments of salvation.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, June 13, 2021,

Liturgical memory of Saint Anthony of Padua

FRANCISCO

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