Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Sometimes Catholic teaching about God’s preferential option for the poor can raise the question: Does this mean God loves the poor more than the rest of us? The answer is: No, not at all. Then what is the Church teaching us about God’s (and so our) Preferential Option for the poor and vulnerable?

When any of us are in a painful place, no matter our financial situation, we are vulnerable. Sometimes we know & feel that God is there; with us; carrying us along. Sometimes we don’t and we need the kind words and helping hands of others to get us back on track.

People born into poverty or those who fall into poverty constantly encounter many painful situations, often concurrently: inferior health care, terrible working conditions, low pay, inferior housing, loss of housing; ongoing food insecurity. The worst stress and one that compounds all of the others has to be not being able to adequately provide for your own kids. 

The poor often find themselves “beaten down”, frustrated, unable to climb out of the ditch ... something akin to the man the Good Samaritan stopped to help. 

God’s love is there with them but it can be hard for those in vulnerable situations to know or feel that love. The lesson of the Good Samaritan is that we should be the neighbor doing all we can to alleviate the wounds of poverty and alienation. 

So, followers of Jesus, that becomes our calling, our “Preference”... to be Christ’s eyes, ears, hands and feet: finding out where and how things are going for the poor and other marginalized people. They are here among us and around the world. Once we learn, we do something, we act. Most importantly, we act as Jesus did: showing the same compassion. We are not better in any way; we are siblings in God’s eyes and God’s love. 

God’s gift to us:  When we take the time to actually learn, accompany and befriend people who are on the margins, the margins diminish. And we grow in understanding and wisdom. Those gifts of the Holy Spirit are renewed and rekindled in us. The Church sees this as a gift to us as great as any gift we can give the poor. People who work with the poor and marginalized often report that they get far more than they give.

The Church, Pope Francis tells us, needs to be a field hospital. 

“Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God [... to be] attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid.”

We’d also recommend a short book of essays, Poverty, Responding like Jesus, edited by Fr. Kenneth Himes, OFM and Professor Conor Kell.