The celebration of the World Day of the Poor is meant to remind our communities that the poor are at the heart of all our pastoral activity. As Pope Leo wrote for this day, ‘This is true not only of the Church’s charitable work, but also of the message that she celebrates and proclaims. God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories and their faces. Every form of poverty, without exception, calls us to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.’ (9th World Day of the Poor)

The readings for today speak of apocalyptic events in world history. The prophet Malachi looks forward to the coming of the Messiah and calls for trust and living rightly before God. The expectation at the time of Jesus was that the Messiah would arrive with dramatic cataclysmic events. Jesus did not appear in this way. Rather he lived and spoke words and actions of compassion, mercy, forgiveness and love.

Jesus talks about the destruction of the Jewish Temple. One of the wonders of the world, it was said that if you walked over the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, you would see the golden roof shining in the sun. King Herod had rebuilt the temple after the destruction by the Romans in about 60 BC and it was of colossal proportions. It seemed indestructible. Jesus said it would be destroyed again (in fact about 70 AD by the Romans) but spoke of himself as the New Temple. He would be put to death and rise again. He is the sacrifice who offers worship to the Father and around whom the new community would gather. He is the Head of the Body of Christ, we the members. In other people, we touch his body and his wounds.

We are called to love and be merciful as Jesus was merciful. Whatever happens in world history, Jesus calls us to stand firm and continue to witness to his kingdom, a kingdom of holiness, a kingdom of justice and peace. This is a kingdom where we care for creation and build peace between people. This is a kingdom where all persons are equal and have their dignity as man and woman, of any colour and creed, because we are all created in the image of God and God loves us, for ‘Christ is alive and he wants each of you to be alive’ – for this, safety, food, housing, and work are essential. As Pope Leo said in his recent letter ‘On love for the poor’ And the Church, if she wants to be Christ’s Church, must be a church of the beatitudes one that makes room for the little ones and walks poor with the poor, a place where the poor have a privileged place (Dilexi te 21)

He continues, ‘Love for the poor – whatever the form of their poverty may take – is the evangelical hallmark of a Church faithful to the heart of God.’ [DT 103]. There are many forms of poverty to be overcome, ‘the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.’ Here at St Vincent de Paul, Jesus calls you to witness to his kingdom and the power of love. Here the poor have a special place.

The poorest are like those called the ‘anawim’ in the Bible. They include the widow, the stranger, the orphan – all who have no one on whom they can depend, only God. Jesus invites us to call each person by their name – to give them their dignity. He invites us to hope in him, in psalm 71, ‘You, O Lord, are my hope’ (Ps 71.5). The one who is poor – in any way – knows hardship and challenge, whose heart is burdened by grave hardship can trust in God who never disappoints, ‘’In you, O Lord, I take refuge; I shall never be put to shame’ for God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We are always pilgrims of hope.

The Jubilee of the poor invites us all to be witnesses of hope. The love of Christ urges us on... As St John says, ‘If anyone says ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a liar, for whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.’ (1 John 4:20)

Hope calls for Charity... knowing someone’s name, coming to the need of those who need food, centres of warmth and welcome, security; being present in schools and hospitals; addressing causes of structural poverty; remembering that the goods of the earth belong to all; helping the poor to become agents of change in the way we live the gospel.

In this Archdiocese, much good work is done by Nugent and others, but we must ask in our synodal pathway towards mission how we include and reach the poorest and weakest in our communities. How do we listen to the poor? How do we serve the poor, how do we empower the poor, how are we present in the poorest communities? This is a vital part of our conversion.

Let us continue to walk as pilgrims of hope and bring that hope to others.

+John Sherrington

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