NEVER ABANDON THE POOR WHOM GOD GAVE US AS BROTHERS

VATICAN CITY, APR 11, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received the Sisters of the Poor of St. Catherine of Siena, who are meeting in their General Chapter on the theme "A Gift to Give, the Charismatic Face of the Sister of the Poor."

The Pope said that "the rich charismatic legacy that Blessed Savina Petrilli left you represents a providential 'talent' to be made fruitful in the Church and the world. Your foundress, whom the Lord allowed me to beatify 15 years ago, consecrated herself to God and to the neediest of our brothers, having been inspired by the four great loves of St. Catherine of Siena: the Eucharist, the Crucifix, the Church and the poor. Always ready to answer the needs of our brothers, she did not hesitate, 100 years ago, to go to Latin America. Following in her luminous wake, her spiritual daughters have extended their presence to include Asia."

The Holy Father remarked that their theme "underlines the urgency of pursuing this spiritual and missionary action, without ever losing sight of the charismatic intuition of Blessed Savina Petrilli. Being sisters of the poor - she observed - involved the commitment to never abandon 'the poor whom God gave us as brothers'."

"Seeing Christ in the face of every needy person: this is the teaching that your Foundress repeats to you today, recalling, as she often did with the first Sisters, that 'everything is too little for Jesus'.

The Pope urged the Sisters of the Poor to educate hearts to love, to be heroic in charity, and to be "available to welcome every person, whatever poverty they represent. Joining 'contemplation to action', pursue, dear Sisters, your ecclesial service, which flourishes in prayer as "the flower from the root'. In our time it is more than ever necessary to reaffirm the primacy of listening to God and of contemplation."

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