Follow the Leader…to the Poor and Vulnerable

In the Gospel of Matthew, we find the well-known, powerful truth that whatever we do to or for those considered by society as the “least among us,” we do to or for Jesus.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus identifies himself again and again with the lepers, the orphaned, the widowed, the stranger, the lost, the lonely and all those rejected by society. He tells us that when we reach out to these vulnerable people, we are sharing the very essence of who God is: love.

This principle is summarized in our Catholic social teaching with the statement that we are to have a “preferential option for the poor and vulnerable.”

Several years ago Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, returned from a trip to the Vatican, where he met with his peers from throughout the world who oversee their country’s charitable efforts administered in the name of the Church.

Father Snyder shared the story of being told several times that he must feel lucky overseeing charity in the U.S. since we do not really have any poor people.

If only this were true. Currently in the United States, 46.2 million people live below the official poverty line – that’s nearly 1 in six Americans. More than half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day, and more than 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day.

But it certainly could be true. Through serving the needs of the most vulnerable, we bring them hope. And hope shines a light into the soul, making room for God to make a home and dwell there.
Jesus, our leader, certainly demonstrated a preference for the poor. Let’s play follow the leader.