Pope to pilgrims in Lourdes for
World Day of Poor: 'God hears your prayers'
Pope Francis sends a video-message to participants of a
4-day gathering in Lourdes responding to his call for a ‘Poor Church for the
Poor’.
By Vatican News
Marking the 3rd World Day of the
Poor on 17 November 2019, the Fratello association
has invited believers to spend four days in Lourdes with socially excluded
people.
In a video-message to those gathered in Lourdes for the
event, the Pope reminds those who suffer want and are abandoned to always bear
in mind that God loves them and hears their prayers.
The Church has celebrated the World Day of the Poor on the
33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2017. Pope
Francis established the commemoration in his Apostolic Letter, Misericordia
et Misera, to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of
Mercy.
The theme for the 2019 World Day of the Poor is “The Hope of
the poor shall not perish for ever."
“You who are little, who are poor, fragile, you are
the Church’s treasure. You are in the Pope’s heart, in Mary’s heart, in
God’s heart”, the Pope says in the video message sent on Friday.
The Fratello association, in collaboration
with dioceses and associations from all over the world, aims to serve at the
very heart of the Church, meeting the poor and giving them their rightful place
in the Church.
In his message, Pope Francis goes on to encourages the
pilgrims in Lourdes to care for those who are sick.
He points out that there is “no one so poor to have nothing
to give”. He notes that love saves the world and that God wants us to be the
vessels through which love flows.
“Finally, when you return,” he says, “do not leave as you
came. Return with hope, be witnesses of God's love around you. Tell the world
what your treasure is: Jesus. Go with Mary, that she may make you
apostles of God's tenderness. The Pope loves you and trusts you”.
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