Today November 19th 2017, has been chosen by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, as the first World Day of the Poor. The theme “Love not in word but in deeds,” is taken from the epistle of 1 John 3:18.
The Pope says that he conceived of the idea of a day for the Poor at the closing of the Year of Mercy, as a way to carry on that mission of extending love, service and mercy to all in response to the great love the Father has for us all. Such a love, he says, “cannot go unanswered.”
Karidat has not organized any particular service activity here in our Diocese; instead we offer these suggestions:
- Visit the Man’amko Center
- Listen to a friend’s troubles without interrupting
- reach out to someone who is in a low wage job, e.g.house cleaners, childcare providers, etc. and help them in a concrete way
- Deliver a bento to some of the beach dwellers
- Befriend a migrant or refugee in your village
- Pray a family rosary for the conversion of those whoexploit others, through the enslavement of the drug trade, prostitution or human trafficking
- Encourage a struggling student by a kind word oreven just $5– which can mean a lot
- Donate clothing, shoes, art supplies or books to Guma Esperansa, the domestic violence shelter. of note: men’s items are also needed and welcomed!
- Spend some time in a hospital waiting room, praying
- Offer a Subway/KFC gift card to someone who coulduse a free lunch
- Partner with an agency on island who has frontline experience about the current needs of the poor (Salva tion Army, Empty Vessel, CARE, Million dollar Scholars, or karidat—of course!)
- reach out to a PSS teacher to find out about any specific needs for their students or school that you might be able to help meet
In case we are tempted to feel overwhelmed by the requirements of love, let us revisit a recent homily of the Holy Father’s in which he emphasized that salvation is not earned, but entirely free. “The entry ticket [to the banquet of God] is to be sick, to be poor, to be a sinner,” he said. “This is the entry ticket: to be needy in both body and soul. It’s for those in need of care, healing, in need of love.” It is a free gift of God, offered to all, because all are in need of it.
Salvation comes to us through a close encounter with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. and we commune with Christ through the Eucharist and also by coming close to others and sharing sufferings—our own, and theirs.
This is the Gospel message and this is what is at the heart of the Holy Father’s vision for this World Day of the Poor. It is not a matter of just giving money and then getting to life as usual, but to be transformed by our encounters with others. He envisions a “coming close” to people and not just a distant form of service that doesn’t cost us any- thing.
In his Message for this first World Day of the Poor, he writes:
“If we truly wish to encounter Christ, we have to touch his body in the suffering bodies of the poor, as a response to the sacramental communion bestowed in the Eucharist.”
The sick and the poor are not a burden for us—just the opposite. Encounters between people are the mystical means through which we come close to Christ and know Him bet- ter. It is our privilege to love lavishly, because this is how God shows his lavish love to us all.