My dear friends,
Pope Francis has decreed that the 33rd Sunday of every year should be dedicated to the poor. The first World Day of the Poor falls on November 19 this year. I join the Holy Father in urging all of us to celebrate that day in a meaningful way: It is a day to rediscover our call to be a church of the poor, for the poor. In his letter to the whole Christians he addressed to them with these words: This new World Day, therefore, should become a powerful appeal to our consciences as believers, allowing us to grow in the conviction that sharing with the poor enables us to understand the deepest truth of the Gospel. The poor are not a problem: they are a resource from which to draw as we strive to accept and practice in our lives the essence of the Gospel.
I invite the whole Church, and men and women of good will everywhere, to turn their gaze on this day to all those who stretch out their hands and plead for our help and solidarity. They are our brothers and sisters, created and loved by the one Heavenly Father. This Day is meant, above all, to encourage believers to react against a culture of discard and waste, and to embrace the culture of encounter.