Monday 18 November 2019

Kiev, Ukraine - The poor as our friends ...

The Community of Sant'Egidio and the poor.
"The word of God, however, spurs us to a 'genuine love', to give to those who cannot repay us, to serve others without seeking anything in return. So let us ask ourselves: 'Do I help someone who has nothing to give me in return? Do I, a Christian, have at least one poor person as a friend'? 

The poor are valuable in the eyes of God because they do not speak the language of the self: they do not support themselves on their own, by their own strength; they need someone to take them by the hand. The poor remind us how we should live the Gospel: like beggars reaching out to God. The presence of the poor makes us breathe the fresh air of the Gospel, where the poor in spirit are blessed. Instead of feeling annoyed when they knock on our doors, let us welcome their cry for help as a summons to go out of ourselves, to welcome them with God’s own loving gaze. How beautiful it would be if the poor could occupy in our hearts the place they have in the heart of God! Standing with the poor, serving the poor, we see things as Jesus does; we see what remains and what passes away" (pope Francis, homily at the Mass for the 3rd World Day of the Poor).

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