This petition, with the responsibility it involves, also applies to another hunger from which men are perishing: "Man does not live by bread alone, but . . . by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God," 123 that is, by the Word he speaks and the Spirit he breathes forth. Christians must make every effort "to proclaim the good news to the Poor." There is a famine on earth, "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." 124 For this reason the specifically Christian sense of this fourth petition concerns the Bread of Life: the Word of God accepted in faith, the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist. 125

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. 241 Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. the corporal works of mercy consist Especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the Sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. 242 Among all these, giving alms to the Poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of Justice pleasing to God: 243

St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: "Not to enable the Poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. the goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." 238 "The demands of Justice must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity": 239

Love for the Poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use:

"The Church's Love for the Poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor. 234 Love for the poor is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to "be able to give to those in need." 235 It extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty. 236

God blesses those who come to the aid of the Poor and rebukes those who turn away from them: "Give to him who begs from you, do not refuse him who would borrow from you"; "you received without pay, give without pay." 231 It is by what they have done for the poor that Jesus Christ will recognize his chosen ones. 232 When "the poor have the good news preached to them," it is the sign of Christ's presence. 233

Direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries. 227 The efforts of Poor countries working for growth and liberation must be supported. 228 This doctrine must be applied Especially in the area of agricultural labor. Peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the poor.

In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world's goods; the practice of the virtue of Justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and render him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who "though he was rich, yet for your sake . . . became Poor so that by his poverty, you might become rich." 189

Goods of production - material or immaterial - such as land, factories, practical or artistic skills, oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the Sick and the Poor.

The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the Sick, the handicapped, and the Poor. There are many families who are at times incapable of providing this help. It devolves then on other persons, other families, and, in a subsidiary way, society to provide for their needs: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world." 12

God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, Especially the Poor, "be refreshed." 96 The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money. 97

The Law of the Gospel "fulfills," refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection. 21 In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills the divine Promises by elevating and orienting them toward the "Kingdom of heaven." It is addressed to those open to accepting this new Hope with faith - the Poor, the Humble, the afflicted, the pure of heart, those persecuted on account of Christ and so marks out the surprising ways of the Kingdom.

Beginning with the Old Testament, all kinds of juridical measures (the jubilee year of forgiveness of debts, prohibition of loans at interest and the keeping of collateral, the obligation to tithe, the daily payment of the day-laborer, the right to glean vines and fields) answer the exhortation of Deuteronomy: "For the Poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in the land.'" 248 Jesus makes these words his own: "The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." 249 In so doing he does not soften the vehemence of former oracles against "buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals . . .," but invites us to recognize his own presence in the poor who are his brethren: 250

But the presence of those who hunger because they lack bread opens up another profound meaning of this petition. the drama of hunger in the world calls Christians who pray sincerely to exercise responsibility toward their brethren, both in their personal behavior and in their solidarity with the human family. This petition of the Lord's Prayer cannot be isolated from the parables of the Poor man Lazarus and of the Last Judgment. 118

In spite of the holy Law that again and again their Holy God gives them - "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" - and although the Lord shows patience for the sake of his name, the people turn away from the Holy One of Israel and profane his name among the nations. 74 For this reason the just ones of the old covenant, the Poor survivors returned from exile, and the prophets burned with passion for the name.

Contemplative Prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the Love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more. 8 But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the Poor and Humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.

Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, "and why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" 36 Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: "Let it be to me according to your word." 37 By entrusting ourselves to her Prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: "Thy will be done." Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be Poor sinners and we address ourselves to the "Mother of Mercy," the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. and our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender "the hour of our death" wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son's death on the Cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing 38 to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.

Prayer in the events of each day and each moment is one of the secrets of the Kingdom revealed to "little children," to the servants of Christ, to the Poor of the Beatitudes. It is right and good to pray so that the coming of the kingdom of Justice and peace may influence the march of history, but it is just as important to bring the help of prayer into Humble, everyday situations; all forms of prayer can be the leaven to which the Lord compares the kingdom. 14

That is why the Canticle of Mary, 91 The Magnificat (Latin) or Megalynei (byzantine) is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of thanksgiving for the fullness of graces poured out in the economy of salvation and the song of the "Poor" whose Hope is met by the fulfillment of the Promises made to our ancestors, "to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

The evangelists have preserved two more explicit Prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry. Each begins with thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has revealed them to infants, the Poor of the Beatitudes. 48 His exclamation, "Yes, Father!" expresses the depth of his heart, his adherence to the Father's "good pleasure," echoing his mother's Fiat at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he will say to the Father in his agony. the whole prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father. 49

The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. 340 "Let the proud seek and Love earthly Kingdoms, but Blessed are the Poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." 341 Abandonment to the providence of the Father in heaven frees us from anxiety about tomorrow. 342 Trust in God is a preparation for the blessedness of the poor. They shall see God.

"Blessed are the Poor in spirit." 337 The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to whom the Kingdom already belongs: 338

Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel. 334 Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the Poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on. 335 The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.

The tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the human heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance, he told him the story about the Poor man who had only one ewe lamb that he treated like his own daughter and the rich man who, despite the great number of his flocks, envied the poor man and ended by stealing his lamb. 322 Envy can lead to the worst crimes. 323 "Through the devil's envy death entered the world": 324

Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the Poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples. International solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world peace depends in part upon this.

Christ died out of Love for us, while we were still "enemies." 100 The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the Poor as Christ himself. 101

The People of the "Poor" 87 - those who, Humble and meek, rely solely on their God's mysterious plans, who await the Justice, not of men but of the Messiah - are in the end the great achievement of the Holy Spirit's hidden mission during the time of the Promises that prepare for Christ's coming. It is this quality of heart, purified and enlightened by the Spirit, which is expressed in the Psalms. In these poor, the Spirit is making ready "a people prepared for the Lord." 88

"Behold, I am doing a new thing." 78 Two prophetic lines were to develop, one leading to the expectation of the Messiah, the other pointing to the announcement of a new Spirit. They converge in the small Remnant, the people of the Poor, who await in Hope the "consolation of Israel" and "the redemption of Jerusalem." 79

The forgetting of the Law and the infidelity to the covenant end in death: it is the Exile, apparently the failure of the Promises, which is in fact the mysterious fidelity of the Savior God and the beginning of a promised restoration, but according to the Spirit. the People of God had to suffer this purification. 77 In God's plan, the Exile already stands in the shadow of the Cross, and the Remnant of the Poor that returns from the Exile is one of the most transparent prefigurations of the Church.

The Law, the sign of God's promise and covenant, ought to have governed the hearts and institutions of that people to whom Abraham's faith gave birth. "If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, . . . you shall be to me a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation." 75 But after David, Israel gave in to the temptation of becoming a kingdom like other nations. the Kingdom, however, the object of the promise made to David, 76 would be the work of the Holy Spirit; it would belong to the Poor according to the Spirit.

Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. 479 Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the Poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom": 480 "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell." 481 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him. 482

How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic entry into the city of "his Father David". 308 Acclaimed as son of David, as the one who brings salvation (Hosanna means "Save!" or "Give salvation!"), the "King of glory" enters his City "riding on an ass". 309 Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the truth. 310 and so the subjects of his Kingdom on that day are children and God's Poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to the shepherds. 311 Their acclamation, "Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord", 312 is taken up by the Church in the Sanctus of the Eucharistic liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord's Passover.

The Kingdom belongs to the Poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with Humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor"; 253 he declares them Blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 254 To them - the "little ones" the Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the learned. 255 Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the Cross; he experiences hunger, thirst and privation. 256 Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes active Love toward them the condition for entering his kingdom. 257

Jesus was born in a Humble stable, into a Poor family. 202 Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest. 203 The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:

Christ's whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his Cross, 179 but this mystery is at work throughout Christ's entire life: -already in his Incarnation through which by becoming Poor he enriches us with his poverty; 180 - in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience; 181 - in his word which purifies its hearers; 182 - in his healings and exorcisms by which "he took our infirmities and bore our diseases"; 183 - and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us. 184

Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living. 128 By virtue of this promise, Sarah conceives a son in spite of her old age. 129 Against all human expectation God chooses those who were considered powerless and weak to show forth his faithfulness to his Promises: Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many other women. 130 Mary "stands out among the Poor and Humble of the Lord, who confidently Hope for and receive salvation from him. After a long period of waiting the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is established." 131

Many religions invoke God as "Father". the deity is often considered the "father of gods and of men". In Israel, God is called "Father" inasmuch as he is Creator of the world. 59 Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, "his first-born son". 60 God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most Especially he is "the Father of the Poor", of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection. 61

In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible in the humility of his flesh. It is to the Poor and the first representatives of the gentiles that she makes him known. 106

Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ. He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection. 211 Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 212 For the Christian, "to reign is to serve him," particularly when serving "the Poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder." 213 The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.

Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. the just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. "You shall not be partial to the Poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor." 68 "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." 69

For the bishop, this is first of all a grace of strength (“the governing spirit": Prayer of Episcopal Consecration in the Latin rite): 78 The grace to guide and defend his Church with strength and prudence as a Father and pastor, with gratuitous Love for all and a preferential love for the Poor, the Sick, and the needy. This grace impels him to proclaim the Gospel to all, to be the model for his flock, to go before it on the way of sanctification by identifying himself in the Eucharist with Christ the priest and victim, not fearing to give his life for his sheep:

Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the Poor, the exercise and defense of Justice and right, 33 by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's Cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance. 34

The Eucharist commits us to the Poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren:

"Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church: 195 in his word, in his Church's Prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name," 196 in the Poor, the Sick, and the imprisoned, 197 in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most Especially in the Eucharistic species." 198

From the very beginning Christians have brought, along with the bread and wine for the Eucharist, gifts to share with those in need. This custom of the collection, ever appropriate, is inspired by the example of Christ who became Poor to make us rich: 176

We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to Love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." 610 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the Poor and the little ones who are his brethren. 611 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the Blessed is called "hell."

Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. 590 The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. the parable of the Poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the Cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul -a destiny which can be different for some and for others. 591

"The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches." 408 As such, they "exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the People of God assigned to them," 409 assisted by priests and deacons. But, as a member of the episcopal college, each bishop shares in the concern for all the Churches. 410 The bishops exercise this care first "by ruling well their own Churches as portions of the universal Church," and so contributing "to the welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which, from another point of view, is a corporate body of Churches." 411 They extend it Especially to the Poor, 412 to those persecuted for the faith, as well as to missionaries who are working throughout the world.

Missionary paths. the Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission." 345 It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. "This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the Poor; so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection." 346 So it is that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians." 347

"The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their pastors, are also quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament.... In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated.... In these communities, though they may often be small and Poor, or existing in the diaspora, Christ is present, through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is constituted." 312

Through the prophets, God forms his people in the Hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. 22 The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. 23 Above all, the Poor and Humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel's salvation. the purest figure among them is Mary. 24