Third World Day of the Poor - Questions for reflection and discussion 

The numbers in parentheses refer to the Pope's Message which can be linked to here, a summary of which follows below the questions.

1. The Pope says (#9) that the poor "save" us. In what way do the poor save us? Which gospel passage do you think the pope is referring to? How does this affect how you view the poor?
2. When Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom, whom did he place at the centre (#5)? What task did he entrust to us? Do you feel up to the task? What are some possible next steps you can take? Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus?
3. What does the pope mean by "social imbalances" (#1) and "bondage" (#2)? What social imbalance and bondage have you personally witnessed whether in yourself or others?
4. Who, or what groups of people, in your community and parish boundaries might be feeling like strangers or outcasts (#6)? How welcome do you think they would feel if they walked into our church for Sunday mass?
5. What do you think the pope means by "stifling individualism" or "small circles of spiritual intimacy with no influence on social life" (#6)? What should make this impossible for disciples of Jesus?
6. On this World Day of the Poor, what else can we offer beyond material assistance (#7)? What is an indispensable start for having a true concern for the poor?
7. Who makes God's love visible for the poor (#8)? What do the poor need even more than a hot meal or sandwich?
8. We talk about "the poor", but what is the danger in always using this term (#9)? Who or what are "the poor"?
9. What can we offer the poor (#10)? Why? Can we do it alone?

Here is a summary with extracts from the Pope's Message announcing the Third World Day of the Poor.

1. “The hope of the poor will not perish for ever” (Psalm 9:19). This psalm was composed at a time of great economic development that, as often happens, also led to serious social imbalances. The situation is not much different today. The economic crisis has not prevented large groups of people from accumulating fortunes that often appear all the more incongruous when, in the streets of our cities, we daily encounter great numbers of the poor who lack the bare necessities of life and are at times harassed and exploited.

2. Today, we must acknowledge many new forms of bondage that enslave millions of men, women, young people and children. Frequently judged parasites on society, the poor are not even forgiven their poverty; they are seen as a threat or simply useless, simply because they are poor.

5. We can never elude the urgent appeal that Scripture makes on behalf of the poor. Jesus was not afraid to identify with each of them: “Whatever you did to one of the least of these my brethren, you did to me” (Mt 25:40). If we refuse to make this identification, we falsify the Gospel and water down God’s revelation.  The Beatitudes with which Jesus began his preaching of the kingdom of God open with the words: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Lk 6:20). Jesus who inaugurated his kingdom by placing the poor at the centre, wanted to tell us precisely this: he inaugurated the kingdom, but he has entrusted to us, his disciples, the task of carrying it forward with responsibility for giving hope to the poor. There is a need to revive hope and to restore confidence. The credibility of our proclamation and the witness of Christians depends on it.

6. In closeness to the poor, the Church comes to realize that she is one people, spread throughout many nations and called to ensure that no one feels a stranger or outcast. The situation of the poor obliges us not to keep our distance from the body of the Lord, who suffers in them. Instead, we are called to touch his flesh and to be personally committed in offering a service that is an authentic form of evangelization...
The love that gives life to faith in Jesus makes it impossible for his disciples to remain enclosed in a stifling individualism or withdrawn into small circles of spiritual intimacy, with no influence on social life.

7. The option for those who are least, those whom society discards is a priority that Christ’s followers are called to pursue to give real hope to many of our vulnerable brothers and sisters...
The involvement of Christians in this World Day of the Poor goes beyond initiatives of assistance and should have the goal of encouraging in everyone a greater concern for individuals in any kind of distress. Loving attentiveness is the beginning of true concern for the poor.

8. I ask the many volunteers, who merit recognition for being the first to see the importance of such concern for the poor, to persevere in their dedicated service...
Before all else, the poor need God and his love, made visible by “the saints next door”. What the poor really need is more than our offer of a warm meal or a sandwich. They need our hands, to be lifted up; our hearts, to feel anew the warmth of affection; our presence, to overcome loneliness. In a word, they need love.

9. At times, very little is needed to restore hope. It is enough to stop for a moment, smile and listen.  The poor are not statistics but persons to be encountered; they are lonely, young and old, men, women and children who look for a friendly word. The poor save us because they enable us to encounter the face of Jesus Christ.  In the heart of the pilgrim People of God there beats that saving power which excludes no one and involves everyone in a real journey pilgrimage of conversion, to recognize the poor and to love them.

10. The Lord does not abandon those who seek him and call upon his name: “He does not forget the cry of the poor” (Ps 9:12). The hope of the poor is confirmed in the certainty that their voice is heard by the Lord, that in him they will find true justice, that their hearts will be strengthened and continue to love (cf. Ps 10:17).  I ask all Christian communities, and all those who feel impelled to offer hope and consolation to the poor, to help ensure that this World Day of the Poor will encourage more and more people to cooperate effectively so that no one will feel deprived of closeness and solidarity.