On November 14, 2021 Pope Francis will offer his 5th annual World Day of the Poor message. This Year’s message reflects Jesus’ words to his disciples as they object to a woman performing an act of charity to Jesus himself, he reminds them that “The poor you will always have with you.” Pope Francis reminds us that “Jesus not only sides with the poor; he also shares their lot. This is a powerful lesson for his disciples in every age… The poor are a sacrament of Christ; they represent his person and point to him.”

These messages from our Catholic social tradition carry great pearls of wisdom and insight regarding our socio-economic reality. With this year’s message, Pope Francis has us consider our own social response to the poor. Rather than wait to respond to issues of poverty, he encourages us to go out and engage this community. Concerned that our “Individualistic lifestyles are complicit in generating poverty,” Pope Francis has us reconsider our response.  

For this reason, a different approach to poverty is required. … Serving the poor effectively moves us into action and makes it possible to find the most suitable ways of raising and promoting this part of humanity that all too often is anonymous and voiceless, but which has imprinted on it the face of the Saviour who asks for our help.

This call to action compels us at CCBQ to further promote the work of Catholic Charities in the life of our parish communities. This has been a great gift from Pope Francis, to have us see the value of integrating our work of charity within the life of the Church and parish communities. His concluding thought in this year’s message once again confirms this. 

It is my hope that the celebration of the World Day of the Poor, now in its fifth year, will grow in our local Churches and inspire a movement of evangelization that meets the poor personally wherever they may be. We cannot wait for the poor to knock on our door; we need urgently to reach them in their homes, in hospitals and nursing homes, on the streets and in the dark corners where they sometimes hide, in shelters and reception centres.

The staff of CCBQ has had the privilege of journeying with vulnerable and marginalized members of our community. There are times when this can be a challenge for us and we also face the temptation to avoid an encounter that disrupts our lifestyle and social perceptions. Pope Francis, however, challenges us to embrace this disruption and to allow God to open our hearts to the Gospel of the poor.