INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE

ERADICATION OF POVERTY

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

ADAPTED FROM WWW.OMIUSAJPIC.ORG
OPENING PRAYER
We gather in your presence Lord.
We ask that this prayer will
draw us deeper into right
relationships with You,
with ourselves, with each other,
with institutions and with the earth.
We place our hopes, our dreams, our works
and
our efforts for justice,
in particular
the eradication of poverty
before You.
 We pray that we may listen
deeply and reflectively
so that we will be more consciously aware
of the needs of the most vulnerable
in our society.
Having identified those needs
may we have courage to work courageously for the
Reign of God and the transformation of our World.
We ask this through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
James (2:1-5)
 A reading from the letter of James.

My brothers and sisters, do you with your

acts of favouritism really believe in our
glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 
 For if a person with gold rings
and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and
if a poor person in dirty clothes
also comes in, and if you take notice of the one
wearing the fine clothes and say,
‘Have a seat here, please’,
while to the one who is poor you say,
‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’,
have you not made distinctions among yourselves,
and become judges with evil thoughts?
 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Has not God chosen the poor in the world
to be rich in faith
and to be heirs of the kingdom
that he has promised to those who love him?

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.
 REFLECTION:
SCRIPTURE QUOTES ON POVERTY
YOU SHALL NOT ABUSE ANY WIDOW OR
ORPHAN. IF YOU DO ABUSE THEM, WHEN THEY
CRY OUT TO ME, I WILL SURELY HEED THEIR CRY;

EXODUS 22:22-23
For six years you shall sow your land and
gather in its yield; but the seventh year
you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that
the poor of your people may eat; and
what they leave the wild animals may
eat. You shall do the same with your
vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
Exodus 23:10-11
For six years you shall sow your land and
gather in its yield; but the seventh year
you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that
the poor of your people may eat; and
what they leave the wild animals may
eat. You shall do the same with your
vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
Exodus 23:10-11
‘O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak from those too
strong for them, the weak and needy
from those who despoil them.’

Psalm 35:10
Happy are those who consider the poor;
the Lord delivers them in the day of
trouble.

Psalm 41:1
May he defend the cause of the poor of
the people, give deliverance to the
needy, and crush the oppressor.

Psalm 72:4
The field of the poor may yield much
food,
but it is swept away through injustice

Proverbs 13:23
“What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?” says the
Lord God of hosts.

Isaiah 3:15
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of
evil, if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.

Isaiah 58:9-10
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the
oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
Isaiah 61:1-2
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I
was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you gave me
clothing, I was sick and you took care of
me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

Matthew 25:35-36
“Lord, when was it that we saw you
hungry and gave you food, or thirsty
and gave you something to drink? . . .

And the king will answer them,

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to
one of the least of these who are
members of my family,
you did it to me.”
Matthew 25:37-40
God has brought down the powerful
from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly;

God has filled the hungry with

good things, and sent the rich away
empty.

Luke 1:52-53
Then Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

Luke 6:20-21
And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed;
for one’s life does not consist in the
abundance of possessions.

Luke 12:15
“If a brother or sister is naked and lacks
daily food, and one of you says to them,
‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’,
and yet you do not supply their bodily
needs, what is the good of that? So faith
by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

James 2:15-17
There was not a needy person among
them, for as many as owned lands or
houses sold them and brought the
proceeds of what was sold. They laid
it at the apostles’ feet, and it was
distributed to each as any had need.
Acts 4:34-37
Give us each day our daily bread.

Luke 11:3
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

Loving God,
bless your people.
That all Nations work together to build a world of
justice, love and peace. We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, bless your people.

That all people have access to relevant education

throughout their lives. We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, bless your people.
That all people have meaningful work, and
sufficient income to live their life with dignity.
We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, bless your people.

That all people have adequate

accommodation, appropriate healthcare, We
pray to the Lord.
Loving God, bless your people.
That all people have a genuine voice in shaping the
decisions that affect them and that all people can
contribute to the development of society. We pray
to the Lord.
Loving God, bless your people.

That all development is socially, economically and

environmentally sustainable
for this generation and the generations to come.
We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, bless your people.
OUR FATHER
 CLOSING PRAYER
God our Father, we ask you
to help us to worship you in an
acceptable way.
Help us to be always aware that true
worship demands of us to live just lives
and to work for justice
and peace in the world.
 We ask you this
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God for
ever and ever.
Amen.