“Hospitals and schools were institutions established to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized. These institutions should be a part of every country’s public policy, yet wars and inequalities often prevent this from happening.” This was denounced by Pope Leo XIV in his message for the World Day of the Poor, to be celebrated on 16 November with the theme, “You are my hope, O Lord” (Psalm 71:5). “Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity, here and now”, the Pope’s appeal: “Charity is not just a promise; it is a present reality to be embraced with joy and responsibility. Charity engages us and guides our decisions towards the common good.” Conversely, “those who lack charity not only lack faith and hope; they also rob their neighbors of hope.”
“Charity is the greatest social commandment”,
writes the Pope with regard to “the duty to shoulder our responsibilities in history, without hesitation.”
“Poverty has structural causes that must be addressed and eliminated”,
the Pope’s invitation: “In the meantime, each of us is called to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity, just as many saints have done over the centuries.”
“Today, signs of hope are increasingly found in care homes, communities for minors, centers for listening and acceptance, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and low-income schools”,
Leo XIV’s tribute: “How many of these quiet signs of hope often go unnoticed and yet are so important for setting aside our indifference and inspiring others to become involved in various forms of volunteer work!”.
“Labor, education, housing and health are the foundations of a security that will never be attained by the use of arms”,
the Pope’s counsel. “In the face of new forms of impoverishment”, he remarked, “we can risk becoming hardened and resigned.” “We too may have less than before and are losing what once seemed secure: a home, sufficient food for each day, access to healthcare and a good education, information, religious freedom and freedom of expression.”
“Helping the poor is a matter of justice before a question of charity”, explains the Pontiff, voicing the hope that the Jubilee Year may “encourage the development of policies aimed at combatting forms of poverty both old and new, as well as implementing new initiatives to support and assist the poorest of the poor.”
“The poor are not a distraction for the Church”, they are at the heart of all pastoral activity and “can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability and marginalization.” They cannot rely “on the security of power and possessions. On the contrary, they are at their mercy “and often victims of them”.
“All this earth’s goods, material realities, worldly pleasures, economic prosperity, however important, cannot bring happiness to our hearts.” Indeed, “The gravest form of poverty is not to know God,”
writes Pope Leo, reflecting on the example that the poor offer each one of us. “Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty — above all the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him”, is the Pope’s comment recalling saying of Saint Augustine: “Let all your hope be in God: feel your need for him, and let him fill that need. Without him, whatever you possess will only make you all the more empty.” “The worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care”, he said, quoting a passage from Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium: “The great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith.”
