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Pope Francis’ message for the eight world day of the poor
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – 17 November 2024
The prayer of the poor rises up to God (Sir 21:5)
Dear brothers and sisters,
1. The prayer of the poor rises up to God (cf. Sir 21:5).
In this year dedicated to prayer in anticipation of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, this expression of biblical wisdom is most appropriate as we prepare for the Eighth World Day of the Poor, which will be celebrated on 17 November 2024.
Indeed, Christian hope includes the certainty that our prayer reaches God’s presence; not just any prayer but rather the prayer of the poor!
Let us reflect on this word and “read” it on the faces and in the stories of the poor whom we meet every day, so that prayer may become a path of communion with them and a sharing in their suffering.
2. The Book of Sirach, (formerly known as Ecclesiasticus – and not to be confused with Ecclesiastes. which is part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament) of which we are speaking, is not sufficiently known, but it deserves to be discovered for the richness of its themes, especially with regard to humanity’s relationship with God and with the world.
Its author, Ben Sira, was a teacher, a scribe in Jerusalem, probably writing in the 2nd century B.C.
He was a wise man, deeply rooted in the tradition of Israel, who taught on various aspects of human life: work, family, social life and the education of the young.
He paid particular attention to matters relating to faith in God and observance of the law.
He tackled the difficult questions of freedom, evil and divine justice, which are still very much with us today. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Ben Sira sought to show everyone the way to live a wise and dignified life in the eyes of God and our brothers and sisters.
3. One of the themes to which this sacred author devotes considerable attention is prayer.
He does so with great fervor because he gives voice to his personal experience.
In fact, no writing on prayer can be effective and fruitful if it does not come from someone who stands daily in the presence of God and listens to his Word.
Ben Sira explains that he sought wisdom from his youth: “When I was young, before I set out on my travels, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer” (Sir 51:13).
4. On this journey, he discovered one of the fundamental truths of Revelation, namely, that the poor have a privileged place in God’s heart, to the point that God is “impatient” with their suffering until he has done justice to them.
“The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and he will not be comforted until it reaches the Lord; he will not cease until the Most High visits him, and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment. And the Lord will not delay” (Sir 35:17-18).
God knows the sufferings of his children because he is an attentive and caring father.
As a father, he cares for those who are most in need: the poor, the marginalized, the suffering and the forgotten.
No one is excluded from his heart, for in his eyes, we are all poor and needy.
We are all beggars because, without God, we would be nothing.
We would not even have life if God had not given it to us.
Yet how often we live as if we were the masters of life or as if we had to conquer it!
The mentality of the world demands that we become somebody, that we make a name for ourselves at all cost, that we break social norms in order to accumulate wealth.
What a sad illusion this is!
Happiness cannot be acquired by trampling on the rights and dignity of others.
The violence caused by wars clearly shows the arrogance of those who consider themselves to be powerful in the eyes of men and women, but they are poor in the eyes of God.
How many more people are impoverished by misguided policies involving weapons!
How many innocent victims! Yet we cannot turn our backs to this reality.
The disciples of the Lord know that each of these “little ones” bears the image of the Son of God and each one must receive our support and expressions of Christian charity.
“Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This requires us to be sensitive and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid” (Evangelii Gaudium, 187).
5. In this Year of Prayer, we must take up the prayer of the poor our own and pray together with them.
This is a challenge that we must accept and a pastoral activity that we must promote.
Moreover, “the worst discrimination suffered by the poor is the lack of spiritual care. The great majority of the poor are particularly open to faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith. Our preferential option for the poor must be expressed above all in a privileged and preferential religious care” (Evangelii Gaudium, 200).
All this requires a humble heart, one that has the courage to become a beggar.
A heart that is ready to recognize itself as poor and needy.
In fact, there is a relationship between poverty, humility and trust
The truly poor person is the humble one, as the holy Bishop Augustine said: “The poor have nothing to be proud of, the rich must fight their pride.
Therefore, listen to me: be truly poor, be virtuous, be humble” (Sermons, 14, 4).
The humble have nothing to boast of and nothing to claim; they know they cannot rely on themselves but firmly believe they can appeal to God’s merciful love, standing before him like the prodigal son who repents and returns to receive his father’s embrace (cf. Lk 15:11-24).
The poor, who have nothing to rely on, receive strength from God and place all their trust in him.
Indeed, humility generates the confidence that God will never abandon us and will never leave us without an answer.
6. To the poor who dwell in our cities and are part of our communities, I say: do not lose this certainty! God is attentive to each of you and is close to you.
He has not forgotten you, nor could he. We have all experienced prayers that seem to go unanswered.
Sometimes we ask to be freed from a misery that makes us suffer and humiliates us, and God does not seemt to hear our cry.
God’s silence, however, does not mean that he is inattentive to our suffering; on the contrary, it contains a word that we must receive with trust, entrusting ourselves to him and to his will. Sirach also testifies to this: the Lord’s judgement will be in favour of the poor (cf. Sir 21:5).
It is from poverty, then, that the song of the most genuine hope can arise.
Let us remember that “whenever our interior life becomes absorbed in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor.
God’s voice is no longer heard, the silent joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades away” (Evangelii Gaudium, 2).
7. The World Day of the Poor has now become a fixed date for every ecclesial community.
It is a pastoral occasion not to be underestimated, since it challenges every believer to listen to the prayer of the poor, and to become aware of their presence and their needs.
It is an opportunity to carry out initiatives of concrete help to the poor, and to recognize and support the many volunteers who work with passion for those most in need.
We must thank the Lord for the people who make themselves available to listen to and support the poorest among us.
They are priests, consecrated persons, lay men and women who, by their witness, give voice to God’s answer to the prayer of those who turn to him.
This silence, therefore, is broken every time a person in need is welcomed and embraced.
The poor still have much to teach us because in a culture that has put wealth first, sacrificing human dignity on the altar of material goods, they swim against the tide and show that what is essential for life is something quite different.
Prayer, then, is verified by authentic charity, which manifests itself in encounter and closeness. If prayer is not translated into concrete action, it is in vain; indeed, “faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:17). But charity without prayer runs the risk of becoming philanthropy, which soon exhausts itself. “Without daily prayer, lived with fidelity, our deeds are empty, they lose their deep soul and are reduced to mere activism” (BENEDICT XVI, Catechesis, 25 April 2012). We must avoid this temptation and always be vigilant with the strength and perseverance that comes from the Holy Spirit, the giver of life.
8. In this context, it is beautiful to recall the testimony left to us by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a woman who gave her life for the poor. Saint Teresa always repeated that it was from prayer that she drew the strength and faith for her mission of service to the least among us.
When she addressed the General Assembly of the UN on October 26, 1985, showing everyone the rosary she always held in her hand, she said: “I am only a poor sister who prays.
When I pray, Jesus puts his love in my heart, and I go to give it to all the poor I meet along the way. Pray too! Pray, and you will notice the poor next to you.
Maybe on the same floor of your apartment building. Maybe even in your own house someone is waiting for your love. Pray and your eyes will be opened and your heart will be filled with love”..
How can we fail to remember, here in the city of Rome, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre (1748-1783), whose body rests and is venerated in the parish church of Santa Maria ai Monti.
A pilgrim from France to Rome, rejected by many monasteries, he spent the last years of his life poor among the poor, spending hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, praying the rosary, reciting the Breviary, reading the New Testament and the Imitation of Christ.
Since he had no place to stay, he usually slept in a corner of the ruins of the Colosseum, like a “vagabond of God”, making his life an incessant prayer raised to God.
9. As we journey towards the Holy Year, I urge everyone to become pilgrims of hope, setting concrete paths for a better future. Let us not forget “the little details of love” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 145): stopping, coming closer, giving a little attention, a smile, a caress, a word of comfort.
These gestures are not automatic; they require a daily commitment and are often hidden and silent, but they are strengthened by prayer.
At this time, when the song of hope seems to give way to the clash of weapons, the cry of so many innocent wounded and the silence of so many victims of war, we turn to God with our plea for peace.
We stretch out our hands to receive peace as a precious gift because we are “poor” in this respect, and at the same time we commit ourselves to re-integrate it into our daily lives.
10. We are called to be friends of the poor in all circumstances, following in the footsteps of Jesus who always began by showing solidarity when dealing with the least among us.
May the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, who appeared at Banneux and left a message that should not be forgotten: “I am the Virgin of the Poor”, sustain us on this journey.
We entrust our prayers to Mary, whom God has favored because of her humble poverty and who has achieved great things through her obedience, in the certainty that they will rise to heaven and be heard.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 13 June 2024, Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Patron of the Poor
FRANCIS
