Greetings of peace, my dear Family!
I pray this finds you well and filled with the Lord’s peace!
November 18, 2018 will mark the Second World Day of the Poor. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has designated the 33rd Sunday of the year as a day to call to mind and pray for the poor in a special way. This year, the Holy Father takes his theme from Psalm 34; verse 6 is a bold and honest claim from the Psalmist: “this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.”
The words of the Psalmist become our own whenever we are called to encounter the different conditions of suffering and marginalization experienced by so many of our brothers and sisters whom we are accustomed to label generically as “the poor”. The Psalmist is not alien to suffering; quite the contrary. He has a direct experience of poverty and yet transforms it into a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Psalm 34 allows us today, surrounded as we are by many different forms of poverty, to know those who are truly poor. It enables us to open our eyes to them, to hear their cry and to recognize their needs. (1)
In reading and reflecting on the Holy Father’s message, this passage really spoke to my heart:
To hear their voice, what we need is the silence of people who are prepared to listen. If we speak too much ourselves, we will be unable to hear them. At times I fear that many initiatives, meritorious and necessary in themselves, are meant more to satisfy those who undertake them than to respond to the real cry of the poor. When this is the case, the cry of the poor resounds, but our reaction is inconsistent and we become unable to empathize with their condition. We are so trapped in a culture that induces us to look in the mirror and pamper ourselves, that we think that an altruistic gesture is enough, without the need to get directly involved. (2)
This speaks to being mindful, being fully aware and fully present to the person in front of you. It is not only about mindful speaking and listening, but also about mindful silence as well. We can never really know the plight of the poor or hear their cries if we do not exercise mindful and intentional silent. Being mindful means that we are fully present and not full of our own agenda or judgments. It’s not about us, but about the child of God in front of you.
On this Second World Day of the Poor, my first challenge to each of you is to be mindful – mindful of God’s poor, because Jesus did call them blessed and said the Kingdom of God is theirs. Jesus also said that we will always have the poor with us. So, I can safely surmise that we will have many opportunities to BE with our poorer brothers and sisters.
My second challenge is to be grateful. November is also the month of gratitude and thanksgiving. I know there are many things we can complain about, things that are not going well. However, let us look to those things that are going well. If you are above ground, then I would say that is one the things to be grateful for. Let us never forget to thank God in the storms as well as in the sunshine. God is the creator of both the sunshine and the rain and if we do not have rain every once in a while, then we cannot appreciate the sunshine.
I have attached the entire World Day of the Poor message for 2018. I invite you to prayerfully read and reflect on its message. As Franciscans, it ought to especially speak to our hearts. It has definitely spoke to mine. Thank you for your attention, your support and your continual prayers. May the Lord continue to grant you peace and may you continue to receive it.
And Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!
Wishing you blessings of peace and all good!
Carolyn D. Townes, OFS
National Animator,
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
See Christ, Be Christ.
Share the Vision!
(OFS-USA 2019 Theme)