Salvific Power of the Poor (Evangelized by the Poor)

8/10/2019 Salvific Power of the Poor (Evangelized by the Poor)

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Evangelized by the poor the saving power of those wholive in poverty


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How are those living in poverty a salvic (saving)force to us?

The New Evangelization is an initiative to

help us recognize the salvic force thoseliving in poverty have in Christ, and to putthem at the center of the Church. Wediscover Christ in the poor; we give voiceto their causes; we are their servants; welisten to them; and they call us to ponderthe mysterious wisdom of God, oftenrevealed to us by their very lives.


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The poor ask us to be men and women of God.

Father P. Jos Luis Azevedo Fernndez, C.M., vice-province ofMozambique, Evangelization of the poor

Think about this in the context of your vocation,wherever you encounter those living in poverty--

whether as a missionary, during a home visit, at a foodpantry, at a thrift store, in a childcare center, etc.
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Pope Paul VI went so far as to say:

The real presence of Christ, which is hidden in thebread and wine, is visibly manifested in his socialpresence in the poor who are the sign and image of Hisongoing passion in the world. It is to be strongly heldthat there is a relationship between the real presence ofChrist in the Eucharist and His social presence in thepoor; the poor are the sacrament of Christ .

Paul VI, Insegnamenti, VI , 377; P.J. Rosato, Cena delSignore e amore sociale , 83.


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The poor are a sacrament of Christ? Yes:From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Taking the word "sacrament" in its broadest sense, as the

sign of something sacred and hidden (the Greek word is"mystery"), we can say that [...] material things are untomen the signs of things spiritual and sacred, even of theDivinity. "The invisible things of him [God], from the

creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understoodby the things that are made; his eternal power also, anddivinity" (Romans 1:20).


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Let us examine the great importance of the poorin our faith, and in our world: from 5 perspectives

from Julio Lois, 1988 Teologia de la liveracion: Opcion por los pobres


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Sociological perspectiveThe poor is a socio-economicconcept that refers to two-thirds of

humanity, the so-called DevelopingCountries. The poor are a historicalreality; their existence is not so muchdue to natural as historical causes.




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Theological perspective The mystery of God as the God of thepoor: The poor are the place, thesacrament and the presence of a cruciedand suffering God that is hidden andabsent. At the same time, the poor arealso the presence of a liberating God,since through them He intervenes actively

and salvically in history. Both the not yetand the already of the Kingdom of Godare concretely present in the poor.




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Christological perspectiveNot only was Jesus Himself poor, butHe also put His life into the service ofthe poor. Jesus announced theKingdom of God from the poor andfor the poor, and he shared theirdestiny to its ultimate consequencesby dying on the cross at the hands ofthe powerful of his time.




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Salvation perspectiveIt is for the poor that the Good News

is announced. The poor are also thecarriers of the Good News and havea special evangelizing ability byhaving been elected by God. The

poor are a privileged instrument ofGods salvic power in history.




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Ecclesiological perspective The option for the poor is one of

the marks of the true Church, aChurch that is poor and of thepoor. In this Church, the poor areactive subjects.




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How do we discover Christ in the poor?Why must we serve those living in poverty?




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An encounter with a poor personis like an encounter with Christ.

The reason for this lies in Jesusself-identication with the poor.

All you have done to one of theleast of these, you have done tome.

(Matthew 25:31-46) Home visit


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Listen, my brothers and sisters: it wasthose who are poor according to the worldthat God chose, to be rich in faith and tobe heirs to the Kingdom which hepromised to those who love him.James 2:5-6


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What is revealed to us by the lives of persons livingin poverty?




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It is among them, it is among thosepoor people, that true religion and aliving faith are preserved. They livesimply; they dont examine everythingminutely; they submit to order and intheir extreme misery suffer patiently;

One of the richest truths that Saint

Vincent learned from the poor is this:the poor and the humble live a lifemarked by profound faith. He wrote:


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Saint Vincent went on to say:

The poor feed us; let us pray toGod for them, and let us not allow asingle day to go by without offering

them to our Lord, asking Him to givethe poor the grace to make gooduse of their sufferings.(Repetition of Prayer , July 24, 1655, O.C., xi,

120-121.)

Miguel Prez Flores, C.M. & Antonino Orcajo, C.M. The Way of St. Vincent Is Our Way; 39. Evangelized by the Poor
http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/http://vincentians.com/blog/the-way-of-st-vincent-is-our-way-39-evangelized-by-the-poor/


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pixabay.comDepaul Image Archive

Salvific Power of the Poor (Evangelized by the Poor)

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