The psalmist prays “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” Who are the poor that God loves and hears? Who are the poor we meet in our daily lives? Who are included when the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor”? What about the hidden poor that God loves?
Besides those who are materially poor, aren’t the poor also those who feel forgotten, alone, unloved, rejected? When they live apart from family and friends who may be too busy or too angry to reach out to them, don’t people feel unloved and forgotten? When those with whom they now live seem indifferent, anti-social or too drugged out to notice them in their pain, don’t people feel alone and rejected? Aren’t the poor also those who are treated unfairly and unjustly? Because they lack self-confidence and resources, don’t they become victims of the powerful?
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