“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

Jan Paweł II

Abstract

In his address to the poor inhabitants of the Favela Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro, delivered during the apostolic travel to Brazil in 1980, the Holy Father John Paul II addressed the issue of poverty, which, he stressed, is not the will of God. The Pope explicated the sense of the seven beatitudes, in particular of the for−
mulation “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Mt 5: 3), and referred that formulation to the others: “the clean of heart” (Mt 5: 8), “they who mourn” (Mt 5: 4), “they who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Mt 5: 6), “the meek” (Mt 5: 5), “the peacemakers” (Mt 5: 9), “they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness” (Mt 5: 10), and “the merciful” (Mt 5: 7). The poor in spirit – he repeated – are those who are the most merciful, generous, magnanimous and noble. Christ’s words about the poor in spirit must not be understood as an encouragement to disregard social inequality or the entire social question. This question assumes a different shape in different times and has its specific dimension also in Brazil. In fact, Christ’s words about the poor in spirit uncover all these problems to the world and they are a simultaneous warning for the rich: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way” (Lk 6: 24−26). Everywhere in the world, also in Brazil, the Church wants to be the Church of the poor and to grasp the entire truth of Christ’s words, she wants to teach this truth and to act accordingly. She wants to teach the truth inherent in the beatitudes to all: both to the rich and to the poor. Thus she offers encouragement to the poor, stressing that they are particularly close to God and to his Kingdom, and that while living in poverty, they must protect their human dignity and keep their hearts open to others. The Pope clearly said that the Church speaks to everyone. She is the universal Church, the Church of the Mystery of the Incarnation. She is not the Church of one social class or a caste, and she speaks only in the name of the truth in her possession. Yet the Church of the poor does not want to introduce tension among
people. The struggle she wants to serve is the noble struggle for truth and justice, for real good. Thus she declares solidarity with every human being. Following her way, the Church does not want to serve any political elites, but address all the political, economic and social systems. She has her own language, which has its roots in the Gospel and she does not want to introduce into it any elements contrary to her message. She stresses that only a just society is a justified one. A society which does not make the effort to be more just jeopardizes its own future. All of this is included in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, in its one verse: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Extract from the address delivered in Favela Vidigal in Rio de Janeiro on 2 July 1980; source text: Jan Paweł II, “Błogosławieni ubodzy duchem,” in: Nauczanie papieskie, ed. E. Weron, SAC, and A. Jaroch, SAC, vol. 3 (1980), part 2,
Pallottinum, Poznań–Warszawa 1986, p. 12−16.

Summarized by Dorota Chabrajska