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Da giovanni lanfranco moltiplicazione dei pani e dei pesciMultiplication of the loaves and fishes by Giovanni Lanfranco ( 1582 - 1647 )

Editor: This is the sixteenth in this series of articles based on the eight Dossiers (from February 1978 to November 1981) totaling 718 pages in this study. In 1982, Fr. Eugene Barrette, M.S., the prime mover in this historic study, was elected the thirteenth La Salette Superior General (1982-1988). Other articles on Religious Life are available in our La Salette Online Library.

How did Jesus identify with the poor of this world?

• “That Jesus identified with the poor is evident from his life. [In the scriptures, we see that] he proclaimed his solidarity with the poor, the powerless on this earth, in his birth, [in] the way he lived:
‘Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head’ (Matthew 8:20), especially in his passion and death as a common criminal.

• “St. Paul proclaims this poverty of Jesus beautifully:
‘[Jesus] emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross’ (Philippians 2:7-8).

• “His coming was announced precisely within the context of God's preference for the poor:
‘The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty’ (Luke 1:53)

• “[Jesus] himself perceived his mission in terms of the poor and used it as a criterion for its authenticity.
‘[The Spirit] has anointed me... to bring glad tidings to the poor... Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: .... the poor have the good news proclaimed to them’ (Luke 4:18b; 7:22).

• [The apostle James shared his attitude toward the poor in the world:]
‘Listen, my beloved... Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?’ (James 2:5).

At La Salette, Mary continues a pattern evident throughout salvation history. God chooses the humble and the poor to be his special instruments. [Maximin and Melanie, uneducated and unaware, were poor, simple cowherds of the area.]” (1)

Reflection Questions:

  • What saying of Jesus about the poor do you most admire and why?
  • Other comments...

La Salette Rule:

Christ came to bring the Good News of freedom to all people while turning especially to the poor and the oppressed. Mary, at La Salette, while speaking to the lowly and the humble made her message known to all her people. We also direct our mission to the People of God as a whole, while turning more willingly in our apostolic endeavors towards those the world looks down upon and towards those who are alienated from God and the Church. (#25)

What has the church taught us about the poor?

“Christ's mission was to everyone, but it was especially to those most in need. A reawakened sensitivity to this has prompted the Church's growing and imperative involvement with the poor, with human promotion, and with social justice today.

“We can trace this call for convergence between the Church's mission and min the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modem World, Gaudium et Spes;

• in Paul VI's Populorum Progressio and Octogesima Adveniens, the letter celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum;
• in the Bishops' Synod of 1971 that resulted in the document, Justice in the World;
• In Evangelii Nuntiandi of 1975 that linked evangelization explicitly with working for the poor, for liberation;
• in the Puebla documents;
• in the writings of John Paul II and recently in the document from the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes on Religious and Human Promotion.

“The teaching of the Magisterium, in fact, increasingly clarifies the profound links between the Gospel imperatives which give the Church its mission and the widespread commitment to the creation of a worthy society through the advancement of people . . . Christ is seen as the center of the cosmos and history, and the Church's mission is an ardent and unceasing commitment to enable every person to encounter Christ, the new Man (see Redemptor Hominis, #1 & #8). This commitment is especially addressed to the oppressed, the poor, those who have the greatest obstacles to seeing their complete dignity in Christ.

“This orientation has been picked up by various Conferences of Major Religious Superiors, and it has also begun to influence the direction taken by some Provinces and Vice-Provinces in our Congregation. [Paragraph #25 in our La Salette Rule] wants to ensure that this orientation will... remain a point of emphasis for the life of our Congregation.” (2)

Endnotes:
(1) Fifth La Salette Dossier by Fr. Eugene Barrette, M.S., pgs. 37-38; (2) Ibidem, pgs. 39-40;