He who closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself cry out and not be heard. (Proverbs 21)

If we choose to read the word of God without compromise, it is very clear that God chose to be on the side of the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. To be on God’s side, we need to be as close as possible to the poor and marginalized in our society. God is not only close to the poor, but he is in the poor. Our encounter with the poor is an encounter with God. We have many platforms that could help us to find the poor. Some are in our parishes, and others are social platforms. It is time for whoever can lend a helping hand, in any form, however small. Let us find joy in associating with the weak of our society.

Many cities are filled with poor people on their streets looking out for help. Those are indeed poor; however, many poor people are not far from us. Some are right in our neighborhood, and others are even in our homes. Some of us live with people we do not communicate with. It is possible that you walked out of home today without knowing how people at home spent the night. It is the culture of being less concerned. People need our words, our smiles, and proximity. They need our concern. As we make ourselves closer to the poor, may we start with our spouses, our parents, and children. May we think about our neighborhood. Each person matters, especially the person closest to us.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, your words reveal to us your preference for the poor. We are sorry for the many times we have sought the poor very far from us. For the times we have shown little concern for those near us. May we find you in people close to us. We ask this through Christ our Lord.