Text of an Oct. 20 Faith Matters column by Bishop Gerard Bergie of the Diocese of St. Catharines promoting Pope Leo’s first Apostolic Exhortation. 

John Chrysostom was a Church Father and influential Archbishop of Constantinople.

Chrysostom, who lived from 347 to 407 AD, was known as a great teacher and preacher. In fact, his Greek surname, Chrysostom, means “golden mouthed.” He also had a great love for the poor.

He once said that if the faithful do not encounter Jesus in the poor who stand at the church door, they will not be able to meet him at the altar.

He believed that ignorance of the poor is ignorance of Christ.

On Oct. 4, Pope Leo issued his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te (“I have loved you”). In this document he expresses this same timeless Christian principal that love of Christ is inseparable from love for the poor.

There are 121 numbered paragraphs spread throughout five chapters in this document. It is Christocentric, with a focus on Jesus, the Son of God, who became poor for our sake.

Woven throughout the document, we also find the Church’s social teaching and a number of references to the lives of the saints.

Dilexi te is a work that was begun by Pope Francis and completed by Pope Leo. This practice of finishing what someone else has started is a beautiful reminder of how each successive pope builds upon the work of his predecessor.

Pope Leo added his thoughts to this work in a spirit of continuity rather than rupture. The principal theme throughout this document is that God speaks to us in the poor and when we serve them it is like serving God.

Pope Leo bases this on a parable of Jesus: “And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

The key phrase is “you did it to me.”

It is also important to note that Jesus sees the poor as part of our human family.

Pope Leo believes no Christian can regard the poor simply as a societal problem. They are part of our “family.” They are “one of us.”

Nor can our relationship to the poor be simply an ecclesial activity or function; it is an act of faith. Love for the poor becomes a hallmark of the Church that always has a preferential concern for the poor and those in need (Dilexi te 103).

This can be seen in the witness of the saints and the religious orders who have embraced a fundamental option for the poor.

For example, we can see this so clearly in the life of St. Francis of Assisi or St. Teresa of Calcutta and the communities that they formed.

Throughout the centuries, various religious orders helped to bring the love of Christ to those most in need through acts of great charity informed by faith. When this did not happen, the poor often suffered.

Although not mentioned by Pope Leo, I note this was certainly true in England in the 16th century with the dissolution of the monasteries. A significant societal problem developed because there was no longer a system of charity, like hospitals, hospices and almshouses, to provide essential care to the poor.

Pope Leo concludes his document by acknowledging that given the overwhelming challenges we face, there is a growing indifference toward the poor. He believes the remedy is love.

He states: “A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.” (DT 120)

May Christians never forget that ignorance of the poor is ignorance of Christ.

First published on the Diocese of St. Catharines website.