Pope Leo XIV has just released his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te (I have loved you). As I understand the main theme of the Exhortation is poverty in the world and the responsibility of the Church and the world towards the poor. I didn't have time to read the Exhortation. From a preliminary observation, it seems that Pope Leo has taken a very bold stance through this. However, I felt it necessary to share a few things before reading it and sharing about it.

There are two important insights in the Franciscan tradition regarding the Poor.

The first is that the poor are our teachers. The Franciscan intuition is that:

1 They bear the marks of Christ’s incarnation in their own lives. From birth in the manger to his death on the cross, the paths that Jesus walked are paths the poor around us walk everyday of their lives.

2 For the very same reason, it is the poor who open up to us a very direct path to understanding the heart of Gospel and the nature of God.

3 An important way to encounter God is by taking up the vulnerability the poor experience in their lives. When we make ourselves vulnerable, we come closer to God.

4 The poor help us to rip off the illusion that we can be self-sufficient.

For these reasons, the poor are our spiritual mentors and teachers.

The second important insight about the poor is that the poor are not only our spiritual teachers, they are also our judges.

In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks at length about the Last Judgment. “I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was naked and you didn't clothe me...” and so the accusations continue. The poor will be the witnesses who will be called in person. Surely they are the ones who can make these complaints. In short, the poor will be our judges on the last day.

The touchstone to know how much a person has put on Christ is the poor in front of hir. Even those who do very well in the theory paper fail the practical exam!