Pope Francis officially established the WORLD DAY of the POOR 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The first one   will be held on 19 November 2017.

The International Forum of Catholic Action invites all Catholic Action Associations  in the world to assume  the apostolic letter Misericordia et Misera, with special attention to this day, in order to assume it personally and associatively by inserting it into our itineraries and into the life of our parish communities.

Immediately after Misericordia et Misera after the Jubilee, we had emphasized that we must intensify the journey to create a true cultural revolution.

Now it is time  to  realize these commitments and the Pope opens the way: This is the title of the message that establishes the day: Let us love, not with words but with deeds.

“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18).  These words of the Apostle John voice an imperative that no Christian may disregard….Love has no alibi.  Whenever we set out to love as Jesus loved, we have to take the Lord as our example; especially when it comes to loving the poor. (MM, 1)

The most outstanding example is that of Francis of Assisi, followed by many other holy men and women over the centuries.  He was not satisfied to embrace lepers and give them alms, but chose to go to Gubbio to stay with them.  He saw this meeting as the turning point of his conversion: “When I was in my sins, it seemed a thing too bitter to look on lepers, and the Lord himself led me among them and I showed them mercy.  And when I left them, what had seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness of mind and body” (Text 1-3: FF 110).  This testimony shows the transformative power of charity and the Christian way of life. (MM, 3-4)

 I ask my brother Bishops, and all priests and deacons who by their vocation have the mission of supporting the poor, together with all consecrated persons and all associations, movements and volunteers everywhere, to help make this World Day of the Poor a tradition that concretely contributes to evangelization in today’s world.. (MM, 9)

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PAYS
• AC Argentina
• AC Colombia
• AC Romania

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