The mystery of the poor

What You Do for Them You Do for Him

How can I help but think of these things every time I sit down. . . and look around at the tables filled with the unutterably poor who are going through their long-continuing crucifixion. It is most surely an exercise of faith for us to see Christ in each other. But it is through such exercise that we grow and the joy of our vocation assures us we are on the right path. . .There are wars and rumors of war, poverty and plague, hunger and pain. Still, the sap is rising, again there is the resurrection of spring, God’s continuing promise to us that he is with us always, with his comfort and joy, if we will only ask.

The mystery of the poor is this: That they are Jesus, and what you do for them you do for him. It is the only way we have of knowing and believing in our love. The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge of and belief in love.
—Dorothy Day

Who would wish to be rich when the Son of God willed to be poor? [p. 96]

(St Vincent de Paul. From Jacques Delarue, The Holiness of Vincent de Paul, Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London 1960, 132 pp)

We must belong to God; He will be everything to us and with Him we shall have all things. [p. 69]

(St Vincent de Paul. From Jacques Delarue, The Holiness of Vincent de Paul, Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London 1960, 132 pp)

For an affluent society, a further obstacle to an encounter with the living God lies in the subtle influence of materialism, which can all too easily focus the attention on the hundredfold, which God promises now in this time, at the expense of the eternal life which he promises in the age to come (cf. Mk 10:30). People today need to be reminded of the ultimate purpose of their lives. They need to recognize that implanted within them is a deep thirst for God. They need to be given opportunities to drink from the wells of his infinite love. It is easy to be entranced by the almost unlimited possibilities that science and technology place before us; it is easy to make the mistake of thinking we can obtain by our own efforts the fulfillment of our deepest needs. This is an illusion. Without God, who alone bestows upon us what we by ourselves cannot attain (cf. Spe Salvi, 31), our lives are ultimately empty. People need to be constantly reminded to cultivate a relationship with him who came that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). The goal of all our pastoral and catechetical work, the object of our preaching, and the focus of our sacramental ministry should be to help people establish and nurture that living relationship with “Christ Jesus, our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).

(Benedict XVI, Homily, Celebration of Vespers with the Bishops, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, 16 April 2008)

7 Qui confidunt in virtute sua
et in multitudine divitiarum suarum gloriantur.
8 Etenim seipsum non redimet homo;
non dabit Deo propitiationem suam.
9 Nimium est pretium redemptionis animae eius:
ad ultimum deficiet,
10 ut vivat usque in finem nec videat interitum.
11 Et videbit sapientes morientes;
simul insipiens et stultus peribunt
et relinquent alienis divitias suas.

They trust in their own strength
and glory in their great riches.
But, after all, man cannot redeem himself,
he cannot ransom himself before God.
The price of his soul’s redemption is too great, he cannot pay it –
the price of eternal death avoided.
He will see that even the wise die;
the foolish and the stupid too will perish,
and their riches will pass to others.

(Psalm 49:7-11)