Preferential Option of the Poor and vulnerable

Own understanding

Based on the statement, it means that we as human beings, if we have more than enough for
ourselves, it is better for us to offer some to others and to prioritize those who needed it the
most rather than our own self-interest. Preferential Option of the Poor and vulnerable is putting
those in need as our top priority and making them part of our circle despite of the differences in
social status rather than letting them feel that they do not belong.

Cite an example

Example is scholarship related issues. Some scholarship offers assistance or even full tuition
fee help to those students whose parents belong to those minimum wage earners and that their
combined yearly income cannot exceed to Php98000. You can see that the scholarship may
have another requirement such as grade that reached their standard but it won't change the fact
that even if you have excellent grades, you can't apply if your family doesn't belong to those
Php98000 and below and that what is meant by preferential option of the poor. Another example
is when both of your best friends got drown in the water and one of them doesn't know how to
swim while the other one know but not enough to save herself. Who will you save first?

It is better to save the one who doesn't know how to swim because she has lesser possibility of
survival and the other one has greater possibility that even if you'll save her a later, she'll be
able to endure if than the one who doesn't know how to swim at all.

How the principle is related to the topic

The principle is related to the topic because in life, we must learn to see how people are and in
order for us to see who needed help. We must know well how to analyze in order to come up
with correct judgement on who needs help the most and what we should probably do in order to
lessen their pain and sufferings. After planning, we should carry out the plan by acting on it and
doing what we are ought to do.

Personal reflection

For me, some people only help those whom they think can give them something in return.
People only help other people with condition of thinking that someday, they'll gain from their
help. That even help nowadays looks like business for everyone. As a follower of God, we must
know how to love and help without condition or without expecting something in return. And that
is why the church prioritizes the poor thus the church is called as Church of the Poor because
God wants to let the poor know that despite of the challenges that they're facing, God is with
them. As a josenian, the core values that can relate to this principle is service where in order to
carry out our actions in prioritizing the poor and vulnerable, we must serve them with the things
that they need.