Anti-Poverty Week 2013 Liturgy
A note to teachers:
This liturgy encourages the school community to reflect on Scripture, the Catholic Social Teaching principle of
the Preferential Option for the Poor, and the words and actions of Pope Francis regarding poverty and
inequality. Humility is emphasised as an important attitude central to a lifestyle that remembers the poor.
Examples are provided of how together, we can build a more just and fair world.
Preparation:
Teacher and students discuss how a lack of resources affects people. For example, limited
income means children may have to work to find food or earn money and as a result are not
able to attend school. Or a lack of nutritious food may mean they are more susceptible to
illness which can affect people’s ability to work or go to school.
Teachers and students discuss and understand meanings of consumerism and materialism
and how these concepts shape students’ values and attitudes. Discuss Gospel and Catholic
teachings about greed, materialism and poverty. What are the basics needed to live? What
are the luxuries we sometimes have and could do without? What are we called to do, to be
as Catholics? What is the importance of humility?
Students and teachers revise Catholic Social Teaching principles, understanding them as a
framework of guidelines for living out the Catholic faith with other people.
Primary Catholic Social Teaching Resources
Secondary Catholic Social Teaching Resources
Play slides 1-2
LEADER: Welcome to our liturgy for Anti-Poverty Week. Today we come together to think
about global poverty and poverty in our own community. We begin by reflecting on the
words of Pope Francis. Play slide 3
Reader 1: Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many
resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there
are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. Play slide 4
LEADER: Pope Francis has been saying some important and challenging things about poverty
this year. This week is a time to think about our brothers and sisters around the world who
do not enjoy the same freedoms as we do. They have little or no access to things such as:
Reader 2: Food. 870 million people are hungry every day. Medicine. 7.6 million children die before
their 5th birthday. Doctors or Hospitals. 390 000 children are infected with HIV in one year." Play slide
5
Reader 3: Education. 61 million children are unable to go to school. 783 million people do not have
access to clean water. And even in Australia, 1 in 200 people are homeless. Play slide 6
LEADER: We know that Jesus cares for the hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick and imprisoned. The
Catholic Social Teaching principles help us understand how we should live with one another.
The principle of ‘Preferential option for the poor’ teaches us to work with the poorest
people towards building a fairer society. Play slide 7
Where all people have a fair share of the gifts of God’s creation. Play slide 8
LEADER: All of us here have access to resources like food, water, medical care, and shelter;
this makes us richer than 80% of the world. There are plenty of resources to go around for
everyone. Let us pause for a moment, to thank God for all that we have (Pause). Play slide 9
Reader 5: How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or
sister in need and yet refuses to help? 1 John 3:17 Play slide 10
LEADER: We have an opportunity to help each other, and those in need every day. We can
show the love of God in our hearts to those around us. In the words of Pope John Paul II,
we are all really responsible for each other. Play slide 11
Reader 7: “Poverty today is a cry. We all have to think if we can become a little poorer, all of us have
to do this. How can I become a little poorer in order to be more like Jesus, who was the poor
Teacher?” Pope Francis, 2013 Play slide 12
LEADER: Pope Francis’ choices are an example of how not to get caught up in the ‘stuff’ of the world,
and instead focus on what is important – showing our faith in kindness and love. Play slide 13
Reader 8: Pope Francis chose to live in simpler apartments instead of the usual Pope’s palace.
Reader 9: He decided not to wear some of the extremely fancy and expensive accessories a Pope is
expected to wear.
Reader 10: When he was given two motorbikes for a gift, he sold them and gave the money to the
poor. Play slide 14
Reader 11: Pope Francis prefers to ride in smaller cars rather than limousines.
Reader 12: Pope Francis rode the bus with everyone when he lived in Argentina.
Reader 13: He visited families in the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
LEADER: Pope Francis reminds us to be humble in our everyday choices, and that our
possessions should not be so important to us. Perhaps if we stopped worrying about what
we have, we might have more time to think about how to help each other show love. We
now take a moment to reflect on our lives and how we live. (Pause) Play slide 15
Reader 6: Mark 10:21-22 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what
you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow
me." When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
LEADER: What did Jesus mean when he told the man to ‘sell what he owned?’ Does it mean we
have to go and sell all our toys and computers right now? Perhaps Jesus was encouraging us to
consider what we value, what we think is most important. Do we act as though our belongings, our
fancy ‘things’ are more important than being generous and kind and helping others? Perhaps we
should think about others more often, and not just ourselves.
Jesus challenges us to work together to create a fair and just world, for everyone, not just
ourselves. Play slide 16
Reader 14: Humility helps us to focus on what is important and to work to help others. Play slide 17
LEADER: It is great that together, we have already been able to make a great change for the
worlds’ poorest. Play slide 18
Our support to Caritas has made some wonderful changes for people who live in poverty.
Reader 1: In Vietnam: 74% of children with a disability are able to attend school.
Reader 2: In Mozambique, the community advocated for a school for 400 children.
Reader 3: In São Paulo, 5,302 vulnerable families were visited by volunteer health care
workers. Play slide 19
LEADER: Together, we can build a more just and fair world for everyone. So that all people
can enjoy the freedoms we so easily access every day.
Reader 1: In Australia, over 900 Aboriginal adults and students have been supported on their
journey to healing.
Reader 2: In PNG, rice farming training increased income for 321 members.
Reader 3: 14,398 families in Bangladesh and Timor Leste have improved access to safe
water. Play slide 20
LEADER: Yet if we remember some of the numbers from the beginning, some 850 million
people in the world go without food, so we know we can still do more. Play slide 21
LEADER: This week: We can think about how to support local Catholic agencies as they help
people in our communities here in Australia. Play slide 22
Remember, in the words of Oscar Romero that it is not about ‘Having more’
Reader 4: More clothes, popularity , shoes, status, phones, money , ‘stuff’.
LEADER: But ‘Being more’
Reader 5: More humble, compassionate, generous, caring, just, thankful.
Prayers of Intercession
(Longer version, may be more suitable for Secondary students)
The response is: “Lord hear our prayer.”
Lord, we pray for those individuals and families in our local community and in our global
community who go to bed hungry, who suffer from sickness, who are unemployed, who lack
access to education, who are homeless, and who are vulnerable to injustice, which kills
hope in life and for the future. Nurture them with your bread of life to find hope in your
mercy. Lord hear us.
Lord, in a world that is divided by poverty, fear and insecurity we ask that you transform our
hearts with your grace. Lord hear us.
Lord, as we take time to reflect on our lives may we look beyond our own wants and desire
to have more. Help us to be humble and to remember your teachings every day. Lord hear
us.
Lord, move our civic leaders and the leaders of the global community to recognise the
chains of poverty, injustice and oppression as barriers to the development of individuals and
communities. Give them the strength and courage to challenge and change their societies to
ones of justice for all people. Lord hear us.
Lord, we ask you to bless the work of Catholic Mission,
Lifelink, the St Vincent de Paul Society, Caritas Australia and
other agencies of the Catholic Church that are your hands of
compassion and mercy in the world. May your grace and
love continue to strengthen them in their work. Lord hear us.
Reader 6: Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to
the Lord and he will reward him for what he has done.
Concluding prayer
LEADER: Please join me in saying our final prayer. Play slide
23.
Prayer for the poor by Mother Theresa
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout the world who live and
die in poverty and hunger.
Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our
understanding love, give them peace and Joy. Amen.
LEADER: After this we invite you to share the message, and continue this discussion and
reflection in your class, in your prayers and with your families.
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES
Discuss with students what the actions of Pope Francis have caused them to think or
consider. These can be written decoratively as statements and displayed.
Students write a reflective journal entry considering how humility is linked with our ability
or desire to help the poor.
Students create a diagram using pictures/drawings/magazine cut-outs and place them in
columns labelled ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.