On October 9th, the Holy See announced Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te, “I have loved you” (Rev. 3:9). In the last months of his life, Pope Francis had begun preparing this Apostolic Exhortation on the Church’s care for the poor—Pope Leo XVI now picks up and continues this work of his predecessor, and his desire that all Christians recognize in the poor and the suffering the very heart of Christ.
A Church for the poor
God reveals his preferential love for the poor from the beginning of Scripture, says Pope Leo XVI, and in a particular way, in Christ’s own incarnation—born of flesh, Christ presented himself to the world “not only as a poor Messiah, but also as the Messiah of and for the poor.” The Church, if she is to be Christ’s Church, must then be one that not only makes room for the poor and the marginalized, but one in which the poor have a privileged place.
Indeed, this preferential care for the poor has been part of the Church’s great Tradition—as Pope Leo XVI iterates, from the early Fathers of the Church through the saints of every century, the Church has long recognized the special and essential place the poor have in God’s own heart, and in Christ’s living body. “They are the beloved of the Gospel, the heirs to the Kingdom. It is in them that Christ continues to suffer and rise again. It is in them that the Church rediscovers her call to show her most authentic self.”
Pope Leo XVI goes on to emphasize that care for the poor also means working to resolve the structures that create poverty and inequality, seeking to create real societal change. “It must never be forgotten that the Gospel message has to do not only with an individual’s personal relationship with the Lord, but also with something greater: ‘the Kingdom of God; it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity. Both Christian preaching and life, then, are meant to have an impact on society. We are seeking God’s Kingdom.’”
Love for the poor—hallmark of the Church
“Love for the poor—whatever the form their poverty may take—is the evangelical hallmark of a Church faithful to the heart of God.” Above all, it is charity that has the power to be a genuine force for change in history, and it is charity that must be the source that inspires and guides every effort to care for the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the marginalized, and the migrant.
“Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies. It spans chasms that are humanly impossible to bridge, and it penetrates to the most hidden crevices of society. By its very nature, Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits. It makes what was apparently impossible happen. Love is above all a way of looking at life and a way of living it. A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.”
Pope Leo VXI encourages all Christians to be attentive to the cry of the poor, and thus enter into the heart of God, who is always attentive to the needs of his children, especially those in greatest need. “Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus’ words are addressed personally to each of them: ‘I have loved you.’”
