This Sunday, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 14, is the Fifth World Day of the Poor. Its purpose is to set aside a Sunday every year and “reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel.” The theme for the celebration in this year of 2021 is: “The poor you will always have with you” (Mk 14:7). These are the words of Jesus at the Anointing in Bethany just before his Passion, an incident described in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and John.
The Christian tradition is realistic about human beings. We are good, but flawed, wounded by sin. We do not believe in utopia in this life. There will always be poverty and injustice of some kind, but we are called to reduce its impact wherever we can.
The World Day of the Poor has been celebrated on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2017. It was established by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Misera, issued on 20 November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. The practice was initiated by Pope Francis in 2017 with the theme of “let us love, not with words but with deeds.”
In response to the Holy Father, we have asked the provinces of the Order to highlight work that their members do among the poor. We will be bringing you these stories in the coming weeks.
Today’s story comes from the Central American country of El Salvador. The Carmelites of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary have been officially present in the country since June 2014. One of the formation houses is located 15 minutes walking distance from the Village of Nazareth. The young Carmelites worked with various groups in the village to organize a Medical Day, allowing the people, including shut-ins, to profit from medical experts without having to travel into the town some 18 km away. It is a testament to the miracle of what working together can do for those who lack the resources some of us take for granted.
Read pdf here (38 KB) the article about the Medical Day in the Village of Nazareth, El Salvador
Read here Pope Francis' Message for the Fifth World Day of the Poor