One in Christ / Daniel Conway

Pope Leo reminds us the poor can be witnesses of hope

(En Espanol)

In his message for the Ninth Day of Prayer for the Poor on Nov. 16, Pope Leo XIV writes, “The poor can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability and marginalization. They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them. Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere.”

If we pay attention to our sisters and brothers who are poor, and if we actually listen to what they have to say to us, we can learn from them.

“By recognizing that God is our first and only hope,” the Holy Father says, “we too pass from fleeting hopes to a lasting hope. Once we desire that God accompany us on the journey of life, material wealth becomes relativized, for we discover the real treasure that we need.”

No one was more responsive to the situation of the poor than Jesus. No one cared for their physical, emotional and spiritual needs more completely than our Lord did. What’s more, he warned his disciples (all of us) not to rely on material wealth or possessions. Happiness, the fullness of life, is not found in what we have; it is discovered in what we give away, sharing generously with others, especially the poor and vulnerable.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth,” Jesus said, “where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Mt 6:19-20).

As St. Teresa of Calcutta frequently reminded us, the gravest form of poverty is not to know God. Pope Leo quotes his predecessor Pope Francis from his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”):

“The worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care. The great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith” (#200). Here we see a basic and essential awareness of how we can find our treasure in God. As the Apostle John insists: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20).

Pope Leo insists that “all this Earth’s goods, material realities, worldly pleasures, economic prosperity, however important, cannot bring happiness to our hearts.” He points out what everyone who is paying attention, and not giving in to self-delusion, must admit: “Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty—above all the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him.”

As a faithful son of St. Augustine, the pope quotes his patron, saying, “Let all your hope be in God: feel your need for him and let him fill that need. Without him, whatever you possess will only make you all the more empty” (Enarr. in Ps., 85:3). This, of course, is the crisis of our times—just as it was in the final days of the Roman empire. The more wealth and power we amass, the more scientific and technological knowledge we gain, the emptier life seems. 

And yet we have hope, a hope that does not disappoint (Rom 5:5). For those of us who follow Jesus and embrace his radical form of selflessness, happiness is found not in what we have, but in who we are and how we live. This is the spirituality of stewardship—a radical form of self-giving that acknowledges all that we have (material possessions) and all that we are (spiritual gifts) as unmerited and undeserved bounty from our generous and loving God. Happiness is found not in possessing these gifts, and certainly not in hoarding them in newer and bigger barns “where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal” (Mt 6:20), but in sharing them generously with others out of gratitude and love.

The poor can be witnesses to hope. If we share with them, we can learn from them.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †