The experience of poverty takes many forms. It affects many of us. We might encounter it when we feel impoverished because of loneliness due to separation from family, friends, or our faith. Or, it may have been an experience of material poverty, when we have struggled to make ends meet and pay our bills.

On the World Day of the Poor (November 19), Pope Francis invites us to especially reflect on the latter. He calls us to be attentive to the many in our local communities and our world who lack access to necessities such as nutritious food, adequate housing, or healthcare.

According to 2021 census figures, more than 11% of Maine families live below the poverty line. It is a striking number but one that just begins to tell the story of the struggles faced by many of our neighbors. As Pope Francis emphasizes in his World Day of the Poor message, “The poor are persons; they have faces, stories, hearts, and souls.”

While the situation can be discouraging, leading us to wonder what, if anything, we can do to help, as the Parable of the Five Talents from Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 25:14-30) tells us, much can be accomplished if we strive to use the gifts that God has given to us. We can lend our voices to advocate for the poor. We can pray for them. We can give generously to the collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which supports programs, both nationally and here in Maine, that seek to lift people out of poverty. We can embrace social justice & peace initiatives in our parishes and churches. We can volunteer at a soup kitchen, food bank, or community meal. And we can remind ourselves and teach our children that every person is a son or daughter of God, whether they live in a mansion, a modest apartment, or a tent by the roadside.

On this World Day of the Poor, may we not “turn our face from anyone who is poor” but remember that it is often the poor who help us to encounter Christ in our world today.