"Dilexi te": Love of the poor, a requirement of Christian life

What is certain is that Pope Leo XIV has shown himself to be an "integrator" of the various aspects of Christian life, a seeker of unity and coherence. But in no way relativizing, but on the contrary, incisive and profound, knowing how to show the demands of Christian truth, although, certainly, one cannot speak of everything at the same time..

The apostolic exhortation Dilexi teI have loved you" is Leo XIV's first long document. In its title it takes up words that Christ addresses, in the book of Revelation (3:9), to a Christian community of little relevance and exposed to scorn. The text focuses on love for the poor. It is an aspect of faith and Christian life that has progressively gained importance in the Church's magisterium, especially since the Second Vatican Council (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 2443-2449).

The presentation links the theme of this document to the encyclical Dilexit us (2024) of the Pope Francis, on the divine and human love of Christ, because contemplating the love of Christ, in the words of this encyclical, "helps us to pay more attention to the suffering and needs of others, makes us strong enough to participate in his work of liberation, as instruments for the spread of his love".

Love for the needy, the path to sanctification

Pope Prevost notes that the document takes up a text prepared by Francis, "imagining Christ addressing each one of them saying: you have neither power nor strength, but 'I have loved you'". It declares that it shares the desire of the previous Pope "that all Christians may perceive the strong connection that exists between the love of Christ and his call to draw near to the poor" (3). Thus the main objective of the document is enunciated: to propose this "path of sanctification" of strong evangelical roots: to recognize Christ in the needy in order to configure oneself with Christ, which is what holiness consists of.

In his "indispensable words" or preliminaries (chapter I), Leo XIV points out how the Lord identifies himself with the needy (cf. especially Mt 25:40). "In the wounded face of the poor we find imprinted the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself" (9). And so the Pope confesses: "I am convinced that the preferential option for the poor generates an extraordinary renewal both in the Church and in society, when we are able to free ourselves from self-referentiality and succeed in hearing their cry" (7). This calls for a change of mentality without being fooled by mockery, self-serving and pseudo-scientific arguments.

A requirement of Christian coherence

Sacred Scripture (cf. chapter II) teaches that "one cannot pray or offer sacrifices while oppressing the weakest and the poorest" (17). Jesus became poor to reveal to us the love of the Father (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). His poverty and his love for the poor is a sign of his bond with the Father and of the self-giving that he also asks of his disciples. For this reason, "one cannot love God without extending one's love to the poor" (26). works of mercy, as a sign of the authenticity of the worship of God (cf. 27).

It is significant that the Apostle James, in order to exemplify the necessary union between faith and works, gives as examples the relationship with the needy (cf. James 5:3-5). In fact, the first Christian community in Jerusalem took daily care to share goods and assist the poor (especially widows, cf. Acts 6:1-6), and St. Paul was instructed not to forget the poor (cf. Gal 2:10). There is thus a link between love of God and love of the poor.

Christ present in the Eucharist and in the poor

The Church Fathers (cf. chapter III) saw in charity toward the needy a concrete expression of faith in the Incarnate Word. With strong accents they urged to recognize Christ not only in the Eucharist but also in the needy. For Augustine, the poor are not only someone to be helped, but the sacramental presence of the Lord (44). All this now taking into account the diversification of the forms of poverty: moral, spiritual, cultural, "that of the one who finds himself in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of the one who has no rights, no space, no freedom" (9).

"On this aspect (...) it can be affirmed that patristic theology was practical, aiming at a poor Church and for the poor, remembering that the Gospel is only well proclaimed when it touches the flesh of the least, and warning that doctrinal rigor without mercy is an empty word" (48). It is along these lines that the works of so many saints are multiplying, especially in religious life.

"When the Church kneels to break the new chains that imprison the poor, she becomes a sign of Easter" (61).

In the poor, migrants and refugees, the sick and those who suffer, Christ is revealed and adored. "When the Church bends down to sleep to care for the poor, she assumes her highest posture" (79).

The poor and education

As for the education of the poor, for the Church this is not a favor, but a duty. It is worth quoting this entire paragraph: "The little ones have the right to wisdom, as a basic requirement for the recognition of human dignity. To teach them is to affirm their value, to give them the tools to transform their reality. The Christian tradition understands that knowledge is a gift from God and a community responsibility. Christian education forms not only professionals, but people open to the good, to beauty and to truth. Therefore, the Catholic school, when it is faithful to its name, becomes a space of inclusion, integral formation and human promotion. Thus, combining faith and culture, it sows the future, honors the image of God and builds a better society" (72).

All this affects not only personal life but also social and political life, with the help of science and technology: the structural causes of poverty, the structures of sin and extreme inequalities must be combated. The institutions of the Church must also be involved in the effort to eradicate poverty.

The magisterium and specifically the Social Doctrine of the Church (cf. chapter IV) has been insisting on attention to the poor not only for sociological and justice reasons, but also for Christological reasons. Paul VI insisted that every poor person represents and reflects Christ. And subsequent popes have stressed the primacy of the criterion of the universal destination of goods and the need to work for the common good. Pope Francis and the magisterium of the CELAM made a particular commitment to serve the poor and to oppose the dictatorship of an economy that kills (92)

Personal holiness calls for social commitment

"It must always be remembered that the proposal of the Gospel is not only that of an individual and intimate relationship with the Lord (...) To the extent that he succeeds in reigning among us, social life will be an environment of fraternity, justice, peace and dignity for all. Then, both the proclamation and the Christian experience tend to provoke social consequences" (96).

As already pointed out by the Aparecida document (2007), this requires listening to the poor, valuing them in their own goodness, accompanying them, evangelizing them (with priority religious attention) and allowing ourselves to be evangelized by them, helping them to transform their situation. And we all win: "Only by comparing our complaints with their sufferings and deprivations, it is possible to receive a reproach that invites us to simplify our life" (102).

In the center and in the heart

Love for the poor is therefore a continuing challenge (chapter V) and an urgent appeal to all, especially to believers. "It is the evangelical guarantee of a Church faithful to the heart of God" (103).

But this presupposes rejecting the temptation to neglect others, especially the weakest. "Let us say it, we have grown in many respects, although we are illiterate in accompanying, caring for and sustaining the most fragile and weakest in our developed societies" (105).

– Supernatural holiness cannot be understood apart from the living recognition of the dignity of every human being. As Pope Francis said, the fact that the sight of suffering bothers us, disturbs us and we do not want to waste our time on it "are symptoms of a sick society".

Echoing Pope Francis, Leo XIV insists that "the poor for Christians are not a sociological category, but the very flesh of Christ" (110). For this reason he proposes to situate them at the center of the Church and in the heart of each of the faithful. This is also why he points out that each community of the Church must strive to include everyone, at the risk of running the risk of spiritual worldliness and even dissolution.

The religious aspect is inseparable from integral promotion. In this sense, it is not enough to "pray and teach true doctrine" (cf. 114), as if authentic prayer and authentic doctrine did not imply a concrete concern for the integral good of each and every person.

Finally, he points out the timeliness and importance of the almsAlmsgiving continues to be a necessary moment of contact, of encounter and identification with the situation of others" (115), although it does not exempt from intelligence and work, from the social responsibilities and commitments of both institutions and individuals. And he concludes by closing the initial outline: "Whether through the work you do, or your commitment to change unjust social structures, or through those simple gestures of help, very close and personal, it will be possible for the poor to feel that the words of Jesus are for him: 'I have loved you' (Rev 3:9) (121).