Topic:

P R E F E R E N T I A L OPTION F O R
T H E POOR

Values Infused: Help the poor, Trust in God’s

Providence.
Ano kaya ang ipinapanalangin ó
hinihiling ni Nanay kay Hesus?
2
 `
“ A theology t h a t
is not translated
and not f e l t by
the grassroots
level r e m a i n s a n
e m p t y c o n c e p t .”
ST. JEROME
Lessons:
1. There are different
types of poverty. In the
Philippines, the poverty
is primarily economic.
The economically poor
are also powerless.
Selfishness is a form of
poverty that may afflict
both the rich and the
poor.
2. The call of
Christ for us to
help the poor
alleviate the
deprivation and
injustice they
suffer
3. The Church
traces the
root cause
of poverty
to sin
4. The complete
eradication of
poverty can happen
only when sin is
eradicated at Jesus’
second
coming, which will
bring us eternal life
5. Thus, while the
poor will always be
with us, we are
challenged to do our
best to help them.
Our own salvation
rests on what we do
for our less
fortunate and
underprivileged
brothers and sisters.
6. The response of the
Church to injustice and
oppression is the
preferential option for
the poor. This option is
based on the teachings,
life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus,
who came to this world
not for the healthy but
for the sick, the sinners,
and the deprived
7. The preferential
option for the poor
is a Christian choice.
It calls on us to
prioritize the needs
of the poor in order
to remove the
scourge of dire
poverty from all
8. The mission of the Church c. give preferential
of the poor in the attention and time to the
Philippines must be poor.
manifested in leaders d. stand up for the rights
who of the poor and the lowly,
a.embrace and practice and
the spirit of evangelical
poverty. e. orient and tilt the
b.combine detachment center of gravity of the
from possessions with entire community in favor
profound trust in the of the needy
Lord.
 Integration
“Preferential option for the poor is a Christian
obligation. It is an essential option (not
optional) of Christian faith, an obligatory
choice to love all, especially the poor. It is “ a
decisive action and a deliberate choice,
reflecting values as well as desires, flowing
from the core of…faith.”