September 27
The service of the poor is to be preferred to all else
he service of
the poor is to be preferred to all else, and to be performed without delay.
If at a time set aside for prayer, medicine or help has to be brought to
some poor man, go and do what has to be done with an easy mind, offering
it up to God as a prayer. Do not be put out by uneasiness or a sense of
sin because of prayers interrupted by the service of the poor: for God
is not neglected if prayers are put aside, if God's work is interrupted
in order that another such work may be completed.
Therefore, when you leave prayer to help some poor man, remember this
— that the work has been done for God. Charity takes precedence over any
rules, everything ought to tend to it above all; since it is itself a great
lady, what it orders should be carried out. Let us show our service to
the poor, then, with renewed ardor in our hearts, seeking out above all
any abandoned people, since they are given to us as lords and patrons.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from
Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
HTML text prepared by David P. Steelman
