MODULE 1Looking through the Loving, Merciful and Compassionate
Heart1AnawimWho are they?Anaw = Hebrew for poor, humble,
afflictedThose who could not trust in their own strength but had to
rely in utter confidence upon God
Victims of mans injustice
They are the poor who remained faithful to Yahweh and who
continued to hope for salvation in spite of everything
They were not only materially poor, they were also poor in
spirit they were totally dependent on God
Their poverty was leavened by Piety = reverence for God or
devout fulfilment of religious obligations like prayer, going to
church, receiving the sacraments, etc.
Opposite of Anawim = the proud and self-sufficient who showed no
need of GodYahweh promises justice to the oppressed
They waited in hope for the coming of Messiah a suffering
servant, one who will be humiliated, one who is poor and just
The anawim are the heirs of the Kingdom of God that is to come
at the end of timeAnawimWho are they today?
They are strangers to people who have made it in this worldThey
are outcasts, they are paid no attention because they have nothing
the world wants
They are attached to nothing and no one, except God, their
family, and a few people
They are not weighed down by anxiety and hurry
They know what is important things that last the soul and
relationshipsJesusOption for thePoorJesus was born poor and grew up
in the midst of the poorBy embracing poverty, he shared the
condition of the majority
He belonged to the lower class and made no attempt to disguise
or escape it
He had absolute dependence on the Father
Many of the miracles favored the poor the widow, the sick, the
possessed, the hungry
The identification of Jesus with the poor and his demand that
those who follow him have to embrace evangelical poverty implies
that the Church has to be a Church of the PoorThe ChallengeChurch
of the Poor
The Gospel calls Christians to put the needs of the poor first.
A common moral test of a society is how it treats its most
vulnerable people.
Precisely because we wish to be at the service of all of
society, our primary concern will always be those who live on its
margin, excluded from the essential services. Wherever there is
structural injustice, Christians are called to oppose it. Those
with the greatest need require the greatest response.
God is Father of all, without exception, and we firmly believe
in the equal dignity of all. It is this belief which commits us in
faith to promote respect for the inalienable rights of all and
their integration in society.
