2449. Beginning with the Old Testament, all kinds of juridical measures (the jubilee year of forgiveness of debts, prohibition of loans at interest and the keeping of collateral, the obligation to tithe, the daily payment of the day-laborer, the right to glean vines and fields) answer the exhortation of Deuteronomy: “For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in the land.'”248 Jesus makes these words his own: “The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”249 In so doing he does not soften the vehemence of former oracles against “buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals . . .,” but invites us to recognize his own presence in the poor who are his brethren:250
When her mother reproached her for caring for the poor and the sick at home, St. Rose of Lima said to her: “When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.251
Aprofunde seus conhecimentos
510. When does the Church intervene in social areas?
112. What is the importance of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus?
572. Why is prayer a “battle”?
303. What are the acts of the penitent?
49. How do the three divine Persons work?
425. What is the relationship between grace and human freedom?
Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:
How does the story of Rich and Lazarus warn us about the consequences of greed? (Luke 16:19-31)
How do the Psalms teach us to be more sensitive to God’s presence (Psalm 139:1-4)?
How important is God’s love to our lives, according to 1 John 4:8?
