Respond to poverty with love, and be close to those in need: papal reflection for Feast of Christ the King
November 27, 2023
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: In his Sunday Angelus address, read aloud by an official of the Secretariat of State, an ailing Pope Francis reflected on Matthew 25:31-46, this year’s Gospel reading for the Feast of Christ the King.
“The Gospel today tells us that the ‘blessed’ are those who respond to these forms of poverty with love, with service: not by turning away, but by giving food and drink, clothing, sheltering, visiting; in a word, by being close to those in need,” Pope Francis wrote. And this is because Jesus, our King who calls himself the Son of man, finds his favorite sisters and brothers in the most fragile women and men.”
He continued, “So, brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves: do we believe that true kingship consists in mercy? Do we believe in the power of love? Do we believe that charity is the most kingly manifestation of man, and is an indispensable requirement for the Christian? And finally, a particular question: am I a friend of the King, that is, do I feel personally involved in the needs of the suffering people I find on my path?”
“May Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, help us to love Jesus our King in the least of his brethren,” he concluded.
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