Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Pope Leo XIV’s first letter to the world declares that faith cannot be separated from love for the poor. He sees the love of Christ incarnated in love for the poor through caring for the sick, opposing slavery, defending women who experience exclusion and violence, making education available to all, accompanying migrants, charitable giving, working for equality and more.

Dilexi te (“I have loved you”, from Rev 3:9) unfolds in 121 numbered paragraphs spread throughout five chapters, and flows directly from the Gospel. It builds on teachings of the past 150 years, as “a veritable treasury of significant teachings” concerning the poor from Saint John XXIII, Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, who articulated the foundations of the Church’s “preferential option for the poor”. Benedict XVI added his reflections and Francis made solidarity with the poor one of the key themes of his pontificate.

Leo's letter was begun by Francis. Pope Leo explains that the “‘preferential option of the poor’ never indicates exclusivity or discrimination towards other groups” but instead emphasizes that “On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ Himself” (9).

Pope Leo acknowledges the existence of moral, spiritual, and cultural poverty; the poverty of “those who have no rights, no space, no freedom” (9). In approaching poverty, he calls for a “change in mentality” that can free us from “the illusion of happiness derived from a comfortable life that pushes many people towards a vision of life centered on the accumulation of wealth and social success at all costs, even at the expense of others and by taking advantage of unjust social ideals and political-economic systems that favour the strongest” (11).

The pope addresses many aspects of poverty, and in a particular way, he addresses migration, illustrating his words with the image of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who in 2015 became a symbol of the European migrant crisis with the photo of his lifeless body on a beach. He adopts Francis’ famous “four verbs”: “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate”. And he also borrows from his predecessor the description of the poor as “not only objects of our compassion, but teachers of the Gospel” (79).

Surely, much to consider with our nation's struggle with immigration.

Peace, Father Gil

Make a Gift of the Heart

Together in Mission proudly supports 62 parishes across the five regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Each one is a place that offers a haven for marginalized communities to encounter God, offering the Sacraments and various outreach ministries that care for the most vulnerable.

Our Parish Goal is $159,042 and so far we have received pledges for $66,380. Please make your gift today!



To make a gift, go to:

Together in Mission - St. Paul the Apostle (P493)

For our immigrant sisters and brothers living in fear of deportation, may the Lord accompany them through the ministry of the Christian community:

For the healing, comfort, and peace of the sick, for Ron Schuster, Montana Gill, Jack & Vicki Phillips, Patricia Arias, Byron Adams, Tel Ramon, Mary Pat Cooper, Kate Dzierzek, Janet Platin, Catherine Gotfredson, Thomas Hinnebusch, Todd Wiench, Bernadette Tee, Estrella and John Monzon, Charles Candel, Joan Doyle, Marisa Kavanau, Carol King Wolcott, John Wolcott, Angel Appleton, Clark Gassan, Lohriena Lohrie Counts, Nora McCormick Heinen, Weldon Tilley, Paul Lannan, Mitchell Twersky, Erny Pinckert, Eileen Gaffney.

For the eternal rest of our beloved departed, Donny Kie, Cesar Robeniol, Nellie Scholar, Linda Harris, Lauren Lagoeiro, Christine Azurin, Dr. Alfred Ferris, Lee Thompson, Lori Seyer, Birgitta Langeneckert, Emma Ruth, Don Zimmerman, Leilah Katibah, Cathy Abarta, William Sherritt, Georgina Eades, Roy Riblet, Bob Cooper, Bruce Taylor, Gary Clark, Raquel Escudero, Sister Maria Sorahan, DMJ, Charles Kroener, Pamela Bramhall, Kathleen McCann, Braun Levi, Mary Minette, Sharon Wright, Jim Gaffney, Michele (Cramer) MacGregor, Bruce Glaspy, Cecile Oswald, Nancy Hogan, Kitty Dukakis, José Javier Canalejo, Mary Looker, Thomas Roth, Maureen Russell, Nancy Reilly, Paul Sanchez, Sr., Martha Kohler, Maria Ines Gontijo Albergaria, Garry Pietro, Irene Beggs, Raul Hernandez, Ann Messinger, Rosalia DeLa Pena, Ron Roberson, CSP, Tom Foley, CSP, , may they rest in peace.

For peace in every nation: may the light of the Holy Spirit transform hearts so that all may seek the way of peace together and comfort the wounded and grieving, let us pray to the Lord: