Soul Food for Sundays & Spirituality

Practising ‘the little details of love’

Given the state of the world, it can be hard to believe that “the prayer of the poor rises up to God” (Sirach 21.5) and is heard, the theme of the Message of Pope Francis for this year’s World Day of the Poor.
How can we fathom that “the poor hold a privileged place in God’s heart” when we are witnessing so much suffering such as the horrors of violence and war being experienced by so many innocent men, women and children?

“Christian hope,” writes Pope Francis, “embraces the certainty that our prayer reaches God’s presence; not just any prayer but rather the prayer of the poor!” He continues: “God knows the suffering of his children . . . As a father, he takes care of those who are most in need: the poor, the marginalised, the suffering and the forgotten”.
We are God’s partners in answering the prayers of the poor for deliverance – “each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor”. 

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