The seventh annual World Day of the Poor Message has been released with the title: “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor.” The message reflects on the wisdom found in the scriptural book of Tobit. It is in this book that the elder Tobit imparts the following command on his son Tobias, “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor.” Pope Francis then goes on to unpack what this command means to us today.
In a word, whenever we encounter a poor person, we cannot look away, for that would prevent us from encountering the face of the Lord Jesus. Let us carefully consider his words: “from anyone who is poor”. Everyone is our neighbour. Regardless of the colour of their skin, their social standing, the place from which they came, if I myself am poor, I can recognize my brothers or sisters in need of my help. We are called to acknowledge every poor person and every form of poverty, abandoning the indifference and the banal excuses we make to protect our illusory well-being.
Pope Francis goes on to tell us that “everyone has a right to experience the light of charity; no one must be deprived of that light.” Charity and justice are fundamental aspects to the Gospel, we cannot fully live out our Christian discipleship if we are not given the opportunity to practice these essential virtues.
And we are again instructed by Pope Francis to make sure that our charitable experiences are authentic. In other words, that what authentically encounter the poor in our midst and enter into a relationship with them to see how we can assist each one another. Pope Francis calls this, “Gospel realism.”
May our concern for the poor always be marked by Gospel realism. Our sharing should meet the concrete needs of the other, rather than being just a means of ridding ourselves of superfluous goods. Here too, Spirit-led discernment is demanded, in order to recognize the genuine needs of our brothers and sisters and not our own personal hopes and aspirations. What the poor need is certainly our humanity, our hearts open to love. Let us never forget that “we are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.”
The World Day of the Poor message is observed with events related to this message. Last year the Vatican offered a health clinic and volunteers served the local homeless community. Our local Catholic Charities offers health fairs and a Thanksgiving turkey distribution during this time. This observance happens around the middle of November, prior to the Thanksgiving and Advent Season. This would be a good time to consider the wisdom of our Catholic social tradition and explore the opportunities to encounter the poor in our midst. If we are honest, we probably know where to find our brothers and sisters in need, we just need to stop turning our face away from them.
