The hope of the poor shall not perish forever
A total of two hundred sixteen indigent men, women and children benefited from the assistance provided by the Order of Malta Philippines during the celebration of the 3rd World Day of the Poor held last November 16, 2019. Coming from poor communities in Manila, the beneficiaries are faced with the continuing challenge of lack of food, clothing, education and healthcare.
The celebration started with a celebration of the Eucharist. In his homily, Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila, shared a personal experience of how God revealed Himself to him through a poor man he met on the street. When asked he how manages to survive, the old man, who did not know that he was talking to a priest, replied, “I’m not worried. God provides!”
To cultivate a personal encounter with Christ and meet Him in the poor, the Order of Malta Philippines celebrated the 3rd World Day of the Poor by providing health services such as seminars on first aid, diabetes and hypertension prevention, proper hygiene hand washing, medical consultation, provision of free medicines and eye glasses, hair grooming, as well as food and gift packs.
Pope Francis in his message for this occasion reminds us that “the poor are not numbers, but people”, to be assisted, accompanied, protected, defended and saved. He recalled that this is not possible without the humility of listening, the charism of the whole, the courage of renunciation. He reminded us that to “follow the way of charity, of humility and of listening means lending an ear to the little ones”, because God reveals himself through them. And he asked us not to look down on anyone from above. “You can only look down at a person from above,” he insisted, “in order to help them get up.”
