The World Day of the Poor is celebrated on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2017. The World Day of the Poor was first observed on 19 November 2017, with the theme, “Let us love, not with words but with deeds”. In his message for that first World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis said that “the Our Father is the prayer of the poor”. He held a special Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by a free lunch at various Vatican venues. During the week preceding the World Day of the Poor, free specialized medical services were offered at a mobile clinic.<\/p>\n
In this year’s message for the annual observance themed \u201cFor your sakes Christ became poor (2 Cor. 8:9)”, Pope Francis recalled the words of St. Paul to the Christians of Corinth, in order to encourage their efforts to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters in need. The Pope noted that the World Day this year comes \u201cas a healthy challenge, helping us to reflect on our style of life and on the many forms of poverty all around us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Covid-19, war in Ukraine – Reflecting on current events in the world, Pope Francis pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic from which the world is emerging, including showing signs of an economic recovery that could benefit millions made poorer by the loss of their jobs.<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the great poverty produced by the \u201csenselessness of war\u201d and how violence \u201cstrikes those who are defenceless and vulnerable.\u201d and the millions of women, children and elderly people \u201cforced to brave the danger of bombs just to find safety by seeking refuge as displaced persons in neighbouring countries.\u201d More so, many remain in war zones, living each day with fear, lack of food, water, medical care and human affection.<\/p>\n
Poverty that sets free – \u201cTrue wealth does not consist in storing up \u201ctreasures on earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal,\u201d the Pope said, but rather in \u201ca reciprocal love that leads us to bear one another’s burdens in such a way that no one is left behind or excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n
This, Pope Francis stated, clashes with our human way of thinking that there exists a form of poverty that can make us rich-the poverty that sets us free \u201cis one that results from a responsible decision to cast off all dead weight and concentrate on what is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEncountering the poor enables us to put an end to many of our anxieties and empty fears, and to arrive at what truly matters in life, the treasure that no one can steal from us: true and gratuitous love,\u201d said the Pope, adding that the poor, \u201cbefore being the object of our almsgiving, are people, who can help set us free from the snares of anxiety and superficiality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concluding, the Holy Father held up the example of St. Charles de Foucauld – a man born rich who gave up everything to follow Jesus \u2013 who urged everyone not to despise the poor, the little ones and the workers, because \u201cnot only are they our brothers and sisters in God, they are also those who most perfectly imitate Jesus in His outward life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMay this 2022 World Day of the Poor be for us a moment of grace,\u201d the Pope prayed. \u201cMay it enable us to make a personal and communal examination of conscience and to ask ourselves whether the poverty of Jesus Christ is our faithful companion in life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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