Jesus invites us to recognize his own presence in poor

Article 164 - Catechism of the
Catholic Church Series

Paragraphs 2437-2449

 

Justice and solidarity among nations” and “love for the poor” are themes close to my heart. How are these topics related to the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal”? When unjust relations exist between nations or when circumstances create a situation causing people to live on the brink of destitution, we need to consider how we might lend a helping hand.

When I was a member of the laity, I spent many hours volunteering in Catholic Social Action facilities to help the poor. Long before the convenience of drop boxes for used clothing, we spent Saturday mornings and after school picking up canned food and used clothing at the homes of people wishing to make donations. We then sorted the donations and cleaned the clothing so we could make it available to those in need. We would often set a place for ourselves at soup kitchens so we could sit and eat with our visitors. Such opportunities opened my eyes to the circumstances that led to the poverty and homelessness of so many. I was surprised to learn that many among “the poor” were once successful individuals who came upon hard times with one unfortunate break after another. I often look back and wonder what happened to those people. I feel blessed to have helped as much as I did as a young Catholic.

Given the opportunity, I would have also embarked upon projects related to “justice and solidarity among nations.” The closest I have come to this is in my present ministry as Director of our Pontifical Office of Missions. Now I have the privilege of working with donors from across our diocese who lovingly make contributions for missionaries worldwide to ensure that goods and services, in addition to spiritual outreach, are made available to the poor and destitute. I guess if we wait long enough, our dreams do come true … according to God’s plan, not ours.

Reading the Gospel narratives, food, clothing and shelter for the poor seem like reasonable themes that are clearly Christ-centered and, therefore, “part of [the Church’s] constant tradition” (ccc 2444). This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, by the poverty of Jesus, and by his concern for the poor. “It extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty” (ccc 2444).

Justice among nations is likewise an extension of the Gospel imperative to promote peace and justice to all people. In this regard, “rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves or have been prevented from doing so by tragic historical events” (ccc 2439). Sound familiar? Ukraine in 2022 with the unprovoked attacks by President Putin and the Russian military? Or, the Wołyń Massacre in Poland in the 1940s, when Ukraine Nationalists (Ukrainian Nazi’s) caused the unspeakable mutilation and death of 100,000 unsuspecting Polish civilians?

What makes these topics complicated in our own day is the question of “how” we can best provide services to those in need. To do so based on the Gospel teaching is one thing; giving free reign to unscrupulous politicians and nations is quite another. Too many “self-interest groups” disguised as “advocates” for the disadvantaged seek to demolish sovereign nations and undermine the world’s natural resources given by God and intended for our use from the beginning.

Support should always be given to poor countries working for growth and freedom. “This doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labor,” (ccc 2440) the Catechism states. Why? Because “peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the poor” (ccc 2440).

It is not the role of the pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms, always having the common good in view and being in conformity with the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. It is the role of the laity “to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice” (ccc 2442).

How is all this related to the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal?” Because, as 4th century Bishop and Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, explained, “not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life.” (ccc 2446). Put another way, it is a matter of “justice” not “charity” that we give to those in need. As the Catechism states: “that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity” (ccc 2446).

The Catechism next outlines the works of mercy as “charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor” (ccc 2447). These include the Spiritual Works of Mercy (counseling, instructing, admonishing, comforting, forgiving, bearing wrongs patiently, praying), as well as the Corporal Works of Mercy (feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead). Among those, “giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God” (ccc 2447).

The Book of Deuteronomy (5:11) teaches us to attend to the needy and the poor. Jesus reinterpreted this passage, saying: “The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me” (Jn 12:8). By these words Jesus “invites us to recognize his own presence in the poor” (ccc 2449).

Many years later, in the 16th century, St. Rose of Lima, when her mother critiqued her for caring for the poor and the sick, said to her: “When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.” (ccc 2449)

Father Hillier is Director, diocesan Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities, and Censor Luborum