The Evangelical Pope | Poor in Spirit – Generous and Magnanimous

Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro 

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

               “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

                   For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

                __ Matthew 5: 3-10

The Slums of Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—2 July 1980 | The Church worldwide wants to be the Church of the Poor, and the Church on Brazilian soil also wants to be the Church of the Poor. It wants to extract all the truth from the Beatitudes of Christ, especially the first one: "Blessed are the poor in spirit. " It wants to teach this truth and put it into practice, just as Jesus came to do and teach. 

Thus, the Church of the Poor speaks first of all and, above all, to humankind. To every man and, therefore, to all men and women. It is the universal Church. It is not the Church of a single class or caste. 

Let us carefully consider every human reality, every injustice, every tension, every struggle. 

               The Church of the Poor does not want to serve what causes stress and conflict between men. 

               The only battle the Church seeks to serve is the noble struggle for truth, justice, and the true good, in which the Church stands in solidarity with every man. 

               On this path, the Church fights with "the sword of the word," not sparing encouragement but sometimes severe warnings (just as Christ did). 

It often threatens and shows the consequences of falsehood and evil. In its evangelical struggle, the Church of the Poor does not want to serve immediate political ends in power struggles. At the same time, it diligently ensures that its words and actions are not used for this purpose, not “exploited.” 

… 

If you have or possess a lot, remember that you have to give and have a lot to offer. You have to think about how to provide and organize socio-economic life and each of its sectors so that it tends toward equality between men and not an abyss. 

If you have a lot of knowledge and are placed high up in the social hierarchy, you must remember, not even for an instant, that the higher up someone is, the more they have to serve! 

Serve others. Otherwise, you will be in danger of distancing your life from the field of the beatitudes, particularly from the first: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Even the "rich" are "poor in spirit" who, to the extent of their wealth, do not cease to "give of themselves" and "serve others." 

… 

Poor but generous, poor but magnanimous. I know there are many of these, here among you, to whom I am speaking, but also in various other places in Brazil. 

Excerpted from:

PELLEGRINAGGIO APOSTOLICO IN BRASILE, DISCORSO DI GIOVANNI PAOLO II, DURANTE LA VISITA ALLA FAVELA VIDIGAL, Rio de Janeiro, 2 luglio 1980

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/speeches/1980/july/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19800702_vidigal-brasile.html