– Brought to you by Fr. Aires Gameiro (aires.gameiro@isjd.pt)
In all periods of time there is a lot of talk on the poor… on trying to solve the problem of poverty. It always remains unsolved. In all talks, culprits are found. On the other hand, some give food, clothing, and shelter to many poor people. There are a large number of theories on how to end poverty. Even some very rich people are doing much to end, not poverty, but the poor victims of poverty, disease and misery. Many are inventing techniques so that there may be no poor, sick and weak people; ranging from abandonment, to technologies of not letting them be born, and to discarding the disabled.
For 2000 years the words of Jesus have been remembered and misunderstood: “You will always have the poor among you” (Jn 12: 8) and forgotten the parable: there was a rich man and a poor man, Lazarus, with wounds at his door, to whom not even crumbs the rich man gave (Luke 16: 19-31).
It is little remembered that Jesus receives what is done to the poor. They “are” Him. Many reject the poor because they reject Jesus. They do not want to accept a weak and poor Saviour Messiah, nor those who believe in him and are by his side; they only accept powerful and rich saviours who crush the poor. This is what led Jesus to the cross. They admired and preferred Barabbas, the robber, to a “meek and humble of heart” Messiah.
They do not accept the poor, so they do not accept a poor and weak Jesus; they do not accept Jesus, so they do not accept poor people. Christ, Son of God, and the poor, are inseparable. One accepts each other or rejects each other.
Darwinism, Nietzsche (ism), Marxism, Leninism, Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism and other ideologies are implacable examples of rejection of weak, poor and miserable people. Nazism seems to be the first anti-Christian ideology that made laws to favour animals more than poor and weak people.
On the contrary, thousands of merciful men help their poor brethren because they accept Jesus Christ and see them as images of Jesus. The rejection of the poor and the sick makes it difficult to accept Jesus Christ and His true word. Big titles world events that are contradictory can be better understood in the light of what is done or not done to the poor / weak and to Jesus Christ. To respect the dignity and life of the poor; to give them food, clothing, home, school, health care even if they are incurable patients, is wisdom of the heart, which improves givers and receivers’ quality of life. Without this wisdom, humans despise diamonds because they are dirty.
Are not abortion, euthanasia, putting animals before children, the poor and refugees comparable to throwing away the baby with dirty water? Are they not similar practices to Darwinism and Nazism? The poor, and Jesus Christ, are always together in the heart of merciful people.
Aires Gameiro, OH