0
0
Logo of the Sustainable Development Goal 1 of the United Nations,
to “end poverty in all its forms, everywhere” by 2030[
Pope Francis Homily for World Day of the Poor
Saint Peter’s Basilica – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 17 November 2024
First Reading (Daniel 12:1-3)
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ[a] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified . . . 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Sunday Gospel for 33rd in Ordinary Time: Mark (13:24-32)
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened and the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.
‘Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. It is so with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates.
I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
‘But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.’
Dear Brothers and Sisters
The words we have just heard could evoke feelings of anguish, but they are a great proclamation of hope.
While Jesus seems to be describing the state of mind of those who have witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and think that the end has come, he announces something extraordinary: in the very hour of darkness and desolation, just when everything seems to collapse, God comes, God draws near, God gathers us together to save us.
Jesus invites us to look more deeply, to have eyes capable of “reading within” the events of history.
In this way, we discover that even in the anguish of our hearts and of our times, an unshakable hope shines forth.
On this World Day of the Poor, let us pause to reflect on two realities that are always at war on the battlefield of our hearts: anguish and hope.
First of all, anguish.
Feelings of anxiety are widespread in our time, as social media amplify problems and wounds, making the world more insecure and the future more uncertain.
Even today’s Gospel opens with an image using ‘apocalyptic’ language, seems to project the tribulation of humanity into the cosmos: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken…” and so on (Mk 13:24-25).
If we limit our vision to the narrative of events, we allow suffering to take over.
Indeed, even today we see the “sun darkened” and the “moon darkened”
when we think of the famine that affects so many of our brothers and sisters who have nothing to eat, when we see the horrors of war or see the death of the innocent.
Faced with this scenario, we run the risk of falling into despondency and failing to recognize the presence of God in the drama of history.
We condemn ourselves to powerlessness.
We witness the growing anguish around us, caused by the suffering of the poor, but we slip into the resigned attitude of those who, moved by comfort or laziness, think “that’s life” and “there is nothing I can do about it”.
In this way, the Christian faith itself is reduced to a harmless devotion that does not disturb the powers that be and is incapable of generating a serious commitment to charity.
While one part of the world is condemned to live in the slums of history, while inequalities grow and the economy punishes the weakest, while society devotes itself to the idolatry of money and consumption, it so happens that the poor and marginalized have no choice but to continue to wait.
Secondly, Hope
But it is precisely here, in the midst of this ‘apocalyptic scene’, that Jesus awakens hope.
He opens the horizon, widens our vision, so that even in the precariousness and pain of the world, we can learn to grasp the presence of God’s love, which comes close to us, does not abandon us, and works for our salvation.
Just as the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, so the Gospel says, “they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory. And he will send the angels and gather together his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens” (Mk 13:26-27).
With these words, Jesus alludes to his death which will take place shortly afterwords.
Indeed, on Calvary the sun will go down and night will fall upon the world.
But at that moment the Son of Man will be seen on the clouds, for the power of his resurrection will break the chains of death, the eternal life of God will rise from the darkness, and a new world will be born from the ruins of a history ravaged by evil.
Brothers and sisters, this is the hope that Jesus wants to give us and he does so through a beautiful image. He asks us to look at the fig tree: “When its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near” (Mk 13:28).
We too are called to read the signs of our life here on earth: where there seems to be only injustice, pain and poverty – in the very drama of the moment – the Lord draws near to free us from slavery and to make life shine (Mk 13:29 – When you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.).
He approaches others through our Christian closeness, our Christian fraternity.
It is not a matter of throwing a coin into the hands of the needy.
I ask two things of those who give alms:
“Do you touch person’s hand or do you throw a coin without touching them?“
“Do you look into the eyes of the person you are helping or do you look away?”
For our part, as his disciples, we can sow hope in this world through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We can and must ignite lights of justice and solidarity even as the shadows of our closed world deepen.
We are the ones who must make his grace shine forth through lives of compassion and charity that become signs of the Lord’s presence, always close to the suffering of the poor in order to heal their wounds and transform their destinies.
Brothers and sisters, let us not forget that Christian hope, fulfilled in Jesus and realized in his kingdom, needs us and our commitment, it needs our faith expressed in works of charity, and it needs Christians who do not look the other way.
I was looking at a photograph taken by a Roman photographer: an adult couple, quite elderly, were coming out of a restaurant in winter; the woman was well covered with a fur coat, as was the man.
In the doorway there was a poor woman, lying on the floor, begging for alms, and they both looked away.
This happens every day.
Let us ask ourselves: do I look away when I see the poverty, the need, or the pain of others?
A twentieth-century theologian said that the Christian faith must create in us “a mysticism with open eyes,” not a spirituality that flees from the world but – on the contrary – a faith that opens its eyes to the suffering of the world and the misfortune of the poor in order to show the compassion of Christ.
Do I feel the same compassion as the Lord for the poor, for those who have no work, who have no food, who are marginalized by society?
We need to look not only at the great problems of world poverty, but also at the small things that each of us can do every day through our lifestyles; through our attention to and care for the environment in which we live; through our persistent pursuit of justice; through sharing what we have with those who are poorer; through our social and political engagement to improve the world around us.
It may seem small to us, but the small things we do will be like the first leaves of the fig tree, our small actions will be a foretaste of the summer to come.
Dear friends, on this World Day of the Poor, I would like to share with you a warning from Cardinal Martini.
He insisted that we must avoid thinking of the Church as separate from the poor as if the Church existed as an independent reality which must then take care of the poor.
The reality is that we become the Church of Jesus to the extent that we serve the poor, because only in this way “the Church ‘becomes’ herself, that is, the Church becomes a house open to all, a place of God’s compassion for the life of each individual”
I say this to the Church, to governments and to international organizations.
I say to everyone: let us not forget the poor.
