CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING: Preferential Option for the Poor

“Love for others, and in the first place, love for the poor, in whom the Church sees Christ himself, is made concrete in the promotion of justice.”

—St. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, #58 (On the Hundredth Year)

Jesus lived a life of poverty, from his humble birthplace to his death alongside common criminals. He lived among the poor; he cared for them and taught others to do the same. Working with and for those trapped by poverty was not an add-on, or an extra thing to do if there was time; for Jesus, it was a requirement of daily life, a way of encountering God.

We must ask ourselves: What does the preferential option for the poor mean in our own concrete, nitty-gritty realities? Who are these least among us? How do we find them? How do we ensure that we keep seeking the poorest of the poor, those in whom Christ is ever present?

Think about your daily life. Think about the people you encounter each week, each day. Think about the people you don’t encounter, those you intentionally avoid or forget even exist. Think about the people you step around or whose eyes you don’t meet. Are these the “least brothers” of Jesus?