Bringing Glad Tidings to the Poor

Specific Objectives

At the end of the session, the participants are expected to:

1. Realize the importance of proclaiming the Good News to the poor

2. Value the poor in the same way our Lord values them

3. Commit to take part in building the Church of the Poor

Expanded Outline

I. Introduction

Do you think it is important to proclaim the Good News to the Poor? Yes, it is very important for us to proclaim the good news to them because it is the very mission of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. He reveals it to his disciples when He shared to them that…

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19

Jesus was anointed to proclaim the Good News to the Poor! He even stressed in Luke 4:43 that it is for this purpose that He was sent! Simply put my dear brothers and sisters, Jesus's mission is to Proclaim the Good News to the Poor! If this is His mission, then we as His disciples must also take on this mission.

II. Taking on Jesus's Mission

Taking on Jesus's mission to proclaim the good news to the poor is not just about poverty alleviation or uplifting of human dignity or promotion of social justice but it is about spiritual renewal. It is all about inviting the poor to enter into a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. It is all about inviting those who help the poor to enter as well into a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. This is very important for us because everything that we do in helping the poor would be ultimately meaningless and impossible if spiritual renewal will not happen to the poor and to those who are helping the poor.

What good would it do if we can better off the poor in this life only to suffer the loss of their soul in the afterlife? What good would it do if we were able to share all that we have to the poor but in the process, we have loss our souls too? That is why EVANGELIZATION AND RENEWAL is still the core of our work with the poor though the No One in Need Movement!

III. Evangelizing the Poor

"He replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Luke 7:22

We believe that if we want to bring real glad tidings to the Poor, then Poor, must hear the Good News! Jesus stressed this when St. John sent his disciples back to him. Jesus stress that it is not the poor has become rich such as the reversal of the condition of others like the blind receive sight, or the lame wall, but the poor have received the Good News!

In responding to this instruction of the Lord, we continue to look for poor communities in our parishes where we can proclaim the good news. We make sure that our first engagement with them is to conduct an LCS. We have also vibrantly proclaimed the Gospel of Live to them through the Live Life Pillar, the Gospel of Chastity to them through the Live Pure Pillar, the Gospel of God's Word through the Live the Word Pillar, The Gospel of Catholicity through the Live the Faith Pillar. We prioritize in doing this because the more important thing for us as we work with the poor is the salvation of their souls!

This is because our goal here in No One in Need is not to just to give the poor what they need but to RENEW them. Our goal is not for donors and benefactors to just help out of compassion for it will eventually lead to donor's fatigue or even burn out but to RENEW them. If the poor will just receive and the donors will just give without hearing the good news, then they will not be transformed. But if we will renew the poor and those who help them, then we all can live as God's children and be able to love just as God's love.

IV. Answering the Needs of the Poor

The mission that Jesus revealed to us in Luke 4:18-19 does not just have a spiritual context but also a physical context. For how we can proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and let the oppress go free if we will not minister to their NEEDS!

What are the needs of the POOR? - LIVELIHOOD, EDUCATION, SHELTER, and MEDICAL CARE.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of our brethren in community even in the Church who are missing out in embracing the fullness of the mission of Christ because of their failure to minister to the needs of the poor. Here in No One in Need we are giving the opportunity for people to not just to do the Spiritual Works of Mercy but also to do the Corporal Works of Mercy! Because if we want to Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor then we must also Answer to the CRY of the Poor!

That is why here in No One In Need we never stop in looking for partners and organization who can help provide livelihood programs to the poor. We never stop in creating BATA Centers and finding funds to help educate the poor. We never stop looking for partners who can improve the living conditions of the poor. We never stop launching medical missions to take care of the poor. We also look out for the needs of those who are in prison and even to the victims of natural calamities and the families of the migrants. We look for ways to take care of their needs because we know that what we do for them we are doing for the Lord!

"For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40

This component of proclaiming the good news is not just important for the mission but it will also determine what will happen to us in the afterlife. That is why we do not want our brethren to miss this out! That is why we want everyone in the community to embrace the mission of No One in Need. So that all of us can have the opportunity to evangelize the poor and help each other in answering the cry of the poor.

IV. Conclusion

“For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9

God became poor to enrich us! We too must learn how to become poor so that we can enrich others!

According to Pope Francis, “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. “(EG 49).

This should be our measure of success in taking on the mission of Jesus. As a church, we should be out on the streets helping people who are in need spiritually and materially. We should always make ourselves available to answer the call to take care of the poor amidst of uncertainty and daunting circumstance of our own lives. Let us pray that God may give us the grace to be able to respond in love and generosity. To be able to give our time, talent, and treasure for the poor. Less for Self, More for Others, Enough for All

Discussion Questions

For discussion, answer the following questions:

1. What hinders me in proclaiming the Good News to the poor?

2. What more can I do to help NoNE in answering the needs of the poor?