Vatican City, Jun 14, 2018 / 05:52 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his message for this year’s World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis challenged Catholics on their attitude toward the impoverished, asking whether they really listen to and love the needy, or engage in charity only to please themselves.
“The condition of poverty cannot be expressed in a word, but becomes a cry which crosses the heavens and reaches God. What does the cry of the poor express if not their suffering and solitude, their delusion and hope?” the pope said in his message.
“How it is that this cry, which rises to the presence of God, is unable to penetrate our ears and leaves us indifferent and impassive?” he asked, saying the World Day of the Poor is a call “to make a serious examination of conscience in order to understand if we are really capable of hearing them.”
Francis stressed the importance of being silent in order to really listen to those in need, saying that speaking too much of oneself will make a person deaf to the voice and the cry of the poor.
The pope expressed concern that at times initiatives aimed at helping the poor, which in themselves are “meritorious and necessary,” are carried out with an intention “more to please those who undertake them than to really acknowledge the cry of the poor.”
“If this is the case, when the cry of the poor rings out our reaction is incoherent and we are unable to empathize with their condition. We are so entrapped in a culture which obliges us to look in the mirror and to pamper ourselves that we believe that a gesture of altruism is sufficient without compromising ourselves directly.”
Pope Francis’ message, titled “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him,” is based on Psalm 34 and was published June 14 in anticipation of the second World Day of the Poor, which he instituted at the close of the Jubilee of Mercy.
The event now takes place throughout the world on the 34th Sunday of ordinary time, which this year falls on Nov. 18.
In his message, Pope Francis said that when it comes to serving the poor, “the last thing we need is a battle for first place.”
Rather, one must humbly recognize that it is the Holy Spirit who inspires people to be a concrete sign of God’s closeness, since he is the one who opens eyes and hearts to conversion.
The poor, he said, “have no need of protagonists, but of a love which knows how to hide and forget the good which it has done.” The true protagonists, he said, “are the Lord and the poor. He who desires to serve is an instrument in God’s hands in order to make manifest His presence and salvation.”
Pointing to St. Paul’s affirmation in the First Letter to the Corinthians that “the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you,’” Francis said this phrase goes not only for the different charisms of the Church, but it also goes for the poor and vulnerable in society.
True disciples of Christ, then, must not harbor “sentiments of contempt or pietism towards the poor,” but instead are called “to honor them, giving them precedence, out of the conviction that they are a real presence of Jesus in our midst.”
Francis also highlighted three verbs used by King David, the author of psalm 34, which are “to cry,” “to answer” and “to free.”
Not only are Christians called to hear the cry of the poor, but they must also answer, he said, noting that God’s answer to the poor is highlighted throughout salvation history.
“God’s answer to the poor is always an intervention of salvation in order to heal the wounds of body and soul, restore justice and assist in beginning anew to live life with dignity,” he said, adding that this response is also an appeal for believers to do the same.
The World Day of the Poor is “a small answer” which the entire Church gives to poor people throughout the world as a sign of solidarity and shared concern, he said, and stressed the importance of having a personal encounter with those in need.
“It is not delegated power of which the poor have need, but the personal involvement of as many hear their cry,” he said, adding that “the concern of believers in their regards cannot be limited to a kind of assistance – as useful and as providential as this may be in the beginning – but requires a loving attentiveness which honours the person as such and seeks out his best interests.”
Pope Francis also spoke of the need to free the poor from the causes of poverty, which are frequently rooted in “selfishness, pride, greed and injustice.”
“These are evils as old as man himself, but also sins in which the innocents are caught up, leading to consequences on the social level which are dramatic,” he said.
To help migrants escape pride and injustice, then, means to free them from “the snare of the fowler” and to “subtract them from the trap hidden on their path, in order that they might proceed expeditiously and look serenely upon life.”
Like the poor blind man Bartimaeus from Mark’s Gospel who was sitting on the side of the road begging when Jesus passed by, many poor people today are also sitting by the road waiting for someone to come and listen to their needs, just as Jesus did for Bartimaeus, Francis said.
“Unfortunately, often the opposite happens and the poor are reached by voices rebuking them and telling them to shut up and to put up.”
These voices, the pope said, are “out of tune” and are guided by “a phobia of the poor, considered not only as destitute, but also as bearers of insecurity and instability, detached from the habits of daily life and, consequently, to be rejected and kept afar.”
By distancing oneself from the poor, one also distances themselves from God, he said, and urged greater solidarity on the part of Catholics through initiatives such as sharing a meal with the poor and needy.
Pope Francis closed his messaged saying it is often the poor who “undermine our indifference, which is the daughter of a vision of life which is too imminent and bound up with the present.”
Only by becoming rich before God, putting material wealth in secondary place, can a person truly grow in humanity and become capable of sharing with others, he said, and urged both consecrated persons and laity to “make tangible the Church’s response to the cry of the poor.”
“The poor evangelize us, helping us to discover every day the beauty of the Gospel,” he said. “Let us not waste this opportunity for grace.”
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The U.S. Bishops have just been silenced! This saddens my neart. As long as Pope Francis and his supporters are in charge, this evil will continue to prevent Graces to flow into the Church. I pray that the suffering and prayers of our good priests and faithful members of our Church be accepted as reparations for sins committed by those who held power and continue to hold power in the Church established by Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Lord have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us. Christ hear us. Christ graciously hear us.
“The U.S. Bishops have just been silenced! ”
Its about time! May they all be converted!
“We cry for the injustices perpetrated upon victims of abuse. We vow to fight a clerical culture that tolerates the abuse of authority. When abuse occurs, it is our sin and we must take it as such. These are not the sins of the media or the products of vast conspiracies. These are things we must recognize and fix. Our Holy Father has said it must end, and it must — not simply because he has said it, but because each of us in our hearts know that this is the only right thing to do.”
– Archbishop Christoohe Pierre
Apostolic Nuncio
Archbishop, with all due respect, the nuanced sychophantic speech that emanates from the “official” channels of The Church is for lack of a better word despicable. Its as though the shepherds are protecting the shepherds and slaughtering the sheep. Where is your compassion? Why do a last minute power play on the US bishops when you just spent an entire month with them. Couldn’t you resolve what you know was coming then? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
“It is clear the the Holy See is taking the abuse crisis seriously,” Cupich said.”
Maybe it’s clear to him, but it isn’t clear to me.
The Vatican may be serious about the abuse crisis. But that means only that the Vatican is against pedophilia. And that is applaudable. But the Vatican is not at all serious about homosexuality. It condones homosexuality. James Martin thinks gay sex is as normal as hetero sex. The Vatican supports James Martin. Gave him a job at the Vatican.
The Pope is not the boss of the U.S. bishops. The bishops should simply decline to comply with the Vatican’s directive.
Yes, be obedient to God, not to the Pope.
Yet another reason Pope Francis needs to step down. He is a liability to the Church and doing everything in his power to sabotage efforts to curb sexual abuse.
The Vatican’s decision to prevent the USCCB from voting on reform may convince secular authorities in the USA that the Church is not serious in protecting those vulnerable to sexual predators. I look for more states to launch grand jury investigations similar to that of Pennsylvania. I fear the Church has lost its last chance to be proactive and if any reform takes place, it will come from the secular arm.
It’s like we are witnessing the corruption in the era of the Reformation all over again, and there were no serious attempts at reform until after the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sacked and looted Rome. It may take a similar chastisement for the Church Hierarchy to take this crisis seriously.
Canon 333 of the Code of Canon Law states, in part, that the Pope “obtains the primacy of ordinary power over all particular churches and groups of them….” I’m not sure what exactly that means, but my prior post may have been in error.
Cupich interrupted to give the Vatican spiel to show who really was boss.
Personally, I think as this does not have to do with Doctrinal questions, it is time for some spine from our bishops, and to practice some good old fashioned Civil Disobedience.
Until they show that spine, and until they expose this rampant corruption, and not allow it to be swept under the rug of decades…
NOT ONE THIN DIME….except to charities and parishes I KNOW are Faithful.
I watched the 9 o’clock EWTN broadcast and the guy (forgot his name) who reported Cupich’s statement said it was his clear impression that Cupich knew what was coming and was ready for it.
And did you see the expression on Archbishop Chaput’s face as His Royal Highness spewed forth? (He could be seen behind Cupich, to the left.) Archbishop Chaput looked shocked and angry – and rightly so.
Somewhere in the mix are at least two longer-term risks:
(a) a threat to the sacramental seal due to aggressive state Attorney’s General probes (think Australia), and (b) the possible and even unintended mission creep of the lay investigation initially focused on sexual abuse and embedded homosexuality, e.g., eventually extending into disposal of Church properties to cover future lawsuits?
“Trusteeship” was an issue in early 20th century America, and 16th-century lay takeover of the Church by nation-states was an outcome of the Reformation (triggered by the comparatively trivial abuse of “indulgences” salesmanship).
Whether further delay helps or worsens the malignant and potentially far-reaching big picture is high-end Calculus. A different Vatican action could have been to simply announce, however late, a Visitation, and then to order the announced pause on pending USCCB actions.
Now the proof is in the pudding–a very short four days in February. Announcement of an extended and more functional session could be a good sign.
It is not “high end calculus”. It is not rocket science.
The bishop of Rome planned the timing of this kick to the bishops groin perfectly.
Francis holds DiNardo, et al, in complete contempt: just as he does the American pewsitter.
The states attorneys general will have an absolute field day with this.
So be it.
This was all scripted by the Holy See, make no mistake about it.
The diminutive Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago is Pinocchio to the Pontiff’s Geppetto.
Rod Dreher, in The American Conservative, reacts to the news from Baltimore:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/the-pope-is-the-problem/
There is a Tweet from Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press.
Bergoglio likes controlling votes whether it’s here or at the Youth Synod where voting was pushed through for the final document whether someone really considered what they’re voting for or not.
Adios, Aristotle and Aquinas. Welcome to the hyper-voluntarist “spirituality” of Bergoglio, Spadaro and yes, Martin.. where the “Ignatian” has a lot in common with Machiavelli and Nietzsche.
This is really a dangerous game though, where the folks playing at being crazy are actually crazy. This nervous breakdown, masquerading as new and improved, once in slow motion is now ever-escalating. This acting out won’t be resolved in family or by the family doctor but by the decisive interventions of that less spiritual, secular part of our psychiatric team known in the broadest sense as “the authorities” or “the cops.”
Should we also pray? Yes. Many rosaries…numbers of rosaries similar to those Bergoglio disparaged when he became Bishop of Rome.
If my child is stricken with dangerous illness, a life threatening,,but my husband due to poor judgement,,delay the life saving treatment,will i commit disobedience if i will bypass him?The situation is the same in the church..Men of goodwill must act now…
Actually it makes sense for them to wait until the February. Though it would’ve been better had the Holy See told them earlier than at last minute.
No, it does NOT make sense for the U.S. Bishops to wait until February. They’ve had a conflagaration on their hands since this summer. If it’s complexity around the issues, this is precisely why they need their November meeting for part 1 and February for a part 2 for addressing the current crisis. There’s a good chance that the lavender mafia led by Cupich–which wants to reduce the sexual abuse crisis to clericalism only, or about any other theory, as long as the topics of homosexuality and gay power cliques are not also brought into a serious forensic examination–was alarmed by a November 2018 study produced by Fr. Paul Sullins’ (Ph.D., sociology)and issued by the Ruth Institute that corrects the gay-friendly PC conclusions of the otherwise very pertinent John Jay Report. Every single U.S. bishop received a copy of this study, which establishes a high correlation between homosexuality among priests and clerical sexual abuse. Corrupt forces within the Vatican and their proxies in the U.S. were at risk of facing uncomfortable questions and even possibly an organized push back against those who wish to ignore the pink elephant in the room.