Anguish and hope: papal homily for World Day of the Poor
November 18, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis presided at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on November 17, the 8th World Day of the Poor, and reflected on “two realities always at war upon the battlefield of our hearts: anguish and hope.”
“We witness the growing anguish around us brought about by the suffering of the poor, but we slip into the resigned way of thinking of those who, moved by convenience or laziness, think ‘that’s life’ and ‘there is nothing I can do about it,’” he preached. “While one part of the world is condemned to live in the slums of history, while inequalities grow and the economy punishes the weakest, while society devotes itself to the idolatry of money and consumption, it so happens that the poor and marginalized have no choice but to continue to wait.”
“Brothers and sisters, let us not forget that Christian hope, fulfilled in Jesus and realized in his kingdom, needs us and our commitment, it needs our faith expressed in works of charity, and it needs Christians who do not look the other way,” the Pope continued.
Quoting the late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, SJ, he concluded:
The reality is that we become the Church of Jesus to the extent that we serve the poor, because only in this way “does the Church ‘become’ herself, that is, the Church becomes a house open to all, a place of God’s compassion for the life of every individual.”The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
I say this to the Church, to Governments and to International Organizations. I say to everyone: please, let us not forget the poor.
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