Monday, September 24, 2012

The Cry of the Poor

"He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard." Prov 21:13

Widows, orphans and aliens have always been important in the scriptures. God demands that his chosen people care for the most vulnerable so that the poor can take their proper place in the society. God is not asking us to create what some contemporary writers call a welfare society, but a church and world in which all people, especially those who can easily be forgotten, have a voice in determining their own future. The American Bishops say it this way:
The primary purpose of this special commitment to the poor is to enable them to become active participants in the life of society. It is to enable all persons to share in and contribute to the common good. The "option for the poor," therefore, is not an adversarial slogan that pits one group or class against another. Rather it states that the deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community. (Economic Justice)
Not much has changed in today's world, and the church is especially concerned with the more than 200 million migrants around the world. A few years ago Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, told his priests to ignore any law that would make it illegal to assist undocumented people in the United States, and the American bishops have consistently urged our government to seek a just immigration reform. We can never ignore the voice of the poor.

Today, pray for migrants everywhere.

What do you think our church should do to aid immigrants around the world?

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