who are the poor?

FRIEDRICH, Caspar David
Woman before the Rising Sun (Woman before the Setting Sun)
1818-20
Oil on canvas, 22 x 30 cm
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Other works by the artist...

The poor are the center of the Church. But who are the poor? At first we might think of people who are not like us: people who live in slums, people who go to soup kitchens, people who sleep on the streets, people in prisons, mental hospitals, and nursing homes. But the poor can be very close. They can be in our own families, churches or workplaces. Even closer, the poor can be ourselves, who feel unloved, rejected, ignored, or abused.

It is precisely when we see and experience poverty - whether far away, close by, or in our own hearts - that we need to become the Church; that is hold hands as brothers and sisters, confess our own brokenness and need, forgive one another, heal one another's wounds, and gather around the table of Jesus for the breaking of the bread.

Thus, as the poor we recognise Jesus, who became poor for us.

(emphasis added)

from the Henri Nouwen Society