A story from Greek tradition tells of a king who, after death, begged God to see Heaven. God granted his request. The king entered and walked around, but within an hour, he returned to God. "Please send me out of heaven," he pleaded. "I can't live here." God asked him why. The king explained, "Like everyone else, I entered Heaven. I saw many fruit-bearing trees close to me, but I was unable to pluck their fruit. Water flowed close to my feet, yet my feet could not feel it. Why?"

God replied, "O King, you cannot have that beautiful experience immediately. In your lifetime, how many times did you stretch out your hands to help the poor? Only based on those actions can you now stretch out your hands to pluck the fruit. To what extent did you experience the sufferings of others and show your solidarity? Only then can your feet touch the water flowing beside you. For whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me. If you did nothing for them, you did nothing for me."

This story captures the essence of Christian love and judgment—it is not measured by wealth or power, but by how deeply we have loved and served others. St. Avila Theresa says, "Your entrance into Heaven depends upon what you do for others." The last judgment, as depicted in the questions, "I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat... I was in prison, and you did not visit me," is based entirely on our love for our neighbour.

Consider the dream of St. Martin, a Roman soldier. While riding through the city, he saw a beggar shivering in the cold at the gates. Having no money, Martin tore his outer garment in two and gave half to the beggar to cover his body. That night, Martin had a vision of Heaven, filled with angels and saints, and Jesus in their midst. Jesus was wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. The saints asked Jesus, "How come you are wearing that torn garment?" Jesus replied, "My friend Martin gave me this gift. I am pleased to wear it."

Dilexi Te, meaning "I have loved you," is Pope Leo's first Apostolic Exhortation. Just as Pope Francis completed Benedict XVI's Lumen Fidei, Pope Leo builds upon Pope Francis's legacy, offering both continuity and a personal vision rooted in Gospel truth. His message is direct and uncompromising: Love for Christ and love for the poor are inseparable. It is an incredible, challenging message that fills us with hope.

Response to the Cry of the Poor
Our vocation as Christians and religious is to ensure that no one stands on God's left by removing hunger, poverty, and misery through acts of mercy. True faith demands compassion and love in action: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action" (1 Jn 3:18). This same spirit lies at the heart of Pope Leo's Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te. It calls us to rediscover love in action—to see service to the poor not as mere charity, but as the most authentic expression of God's love made visible in the world.

The exhortation consists of five chapters, emphasising that holiness is expressed through compassion for the poor and that faith and justice must walk hand in hand.
1. To Love God is To Love the Poor
This is the heartbeat of Dilexi Te. Drawing on the Gospel story of the woman who anoints Jesus with costly oil (Mt 26:8-11), Pope Leo reminds us that genuine love for God manifests itself in love for the poor. For Pope Leo, love for the poor is not optional, nor is it only for those involved in social work. He urges us not to turn away from the growing poverty—even in wealthy nations—and warns against indifference.

Poverty, he says, takes many forms. While material poverty is real, painful, and shameful, the Pope also reminds us of social, moral, and spiritual poverty. We need to wake up and feel the suffering of people in all its forms.

He calls attention to the "double poverty" faced by women, who often suffer systemic inequality and exclusion. He exhorts the faithful to revisit the Gospel as the foundation of social action. He cautions, "Let us not forget that doubly poor are those women within patriarchal society, where they continue to face systemic inequality and marginalisation. They endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment, and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights."
2. God Chooses the Poor
The Holy Father reflects on how God's heart has always favoured the poor. This does not mean others are insignificant. It is like parents showing more attention to a weak and sick child than to their other children who are healthy and strong.

The Holy Father presents the Church's response to migrants. The experience of migration accompanies the history of the people of God. The Church cannot speak credibly about the Gospel while ignoring the plight of migrants and refugees, for they are the face of Jesus.

Pope Leo cites biblical examples—Abraham, Moses, the Holy Family's flight to Egypt, and Christ Himself coming down to live among us. He makes it clear that welcoming migrants is a crucial part of the Church's mission, stating that, "The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are on the move. Where the world sees threats, the Church sees children. Where walls are built, she builds bridges." Pope Leo insists that faith without justice is hollow, and love without action is incomplete. He challenges believers to ask: If Scripture is so clear about the poor, why do we continue to disregard them?

3. A Church for the Poor
Echoing Pope Francis's vision of "a Church that is poor and for the poor," Pope Leo illustrates the Christological centrality of the Church's preferential option for the poor. He also shines a light on over two millennia of faith lived through service: From the deacon Lawrence, who, when challenged by Roman authorities to bring forth the treasures of the Church, presented the poor of the city and declared, "Here, these poor are the treasures of the Church," to the Franciscans, Dominicans, and women's congregations serving the sick and abandoned.

By highlighting the vision of the founders of religious congregations and their outstanding work in serving the poor, marginalised, excluded, and exploited, Pope Leo seems to ask women and men religious a pertinent question: "Are we doing enough for the poor today?" One does not have to look far to answer honestly, "No, we have not!"

In this chapter, he also speaks of examples of care for the sick in the lives of many saints, as well as of care for the poor in monastic life. Pope Leo connects charity to worship, saying that acts of mercy—visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the dying—are not separate from the liturgy. They are the liturgy.

Pope Leo cites many examples of saints who cared for prisoners, notably quoting Pope Francis's own example of visiting prisons in Rome. Holiness is not just lighting candles and singing hymns. It is found in hospital beds, prison visits, and in feeding and clothing the hungry and naked.

The Holy Father draws on the history of the Church's education of the poor, stating it is not a favour, but a duty. For Pope Leo, education is a matter of justice that upholds human dignity. Denying it, especially to the weaker sections of society, is a form of oppression. Running schools and participating in the integral formation of the youth have always been the mission of the Church.

He reminds the Church that religious life is fully authentic only when it stands beside the poor. Citing examples from saints and modern figures like St. Teresa of Calcutta, he celebrates those who embody service as a form of evangelisation, building bridges where the world builds walls.

A History That Continues
Pope Leo traces the Church's social teaching from Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum to Pope Francis's Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti, reaffirming the Church's preferential option for the poor. He draws inspiration from the Latin American Bishops' Conferences and the witness of St. Oscar Romero, calling inequality the root of social evil. He quotes the Aparecida document: "The stark difference between the rich and poor invites us to work with greater commitment to being disciples capable of sharing at a table that is open and inclusive, from which no one is excluded. We therefore reaffirm our preferential and evangelical option for the poor."

Let us examine our lives! Are we busy just organising online and offline webinars and seminars, merely discussing the poor in our chapters, and just praying for them in our chapels, instead of actually getting involved in making creative plans for their upliftment?

4. A Constant Challenge
Pope Leo asserts that the poor are not a problem to solve but members of our family. Quoting the Aparecida document, he calls Christians to spend real time with the poor—listening to them, walking with them, and transforming situations from within. The parable of the Good Samaritan serves as a call to reject indifference and to "go and do likewise."

Consecrated life, he notes, must be prophetic—marked by simplicity, courage, and solidarity. Religious communities should not retreat from the margins but stand firmly with the excluded. Pope Leo reminds us that real wisdom often comes from those we rarely listen to—the laity, the poor, etc. These voices are not optional; they challenge the Church to remain truthful to the Jesus of the Gospels—the Jesus of Nazareth.

Pope Leo says the Church's social teaching has always been shaped not just by theologians or beautiful writings, but by those who live at the periphery of our society—the laity, the poor, and the religious who live and work among the wounded.

This message is incredibly challenging! How often do we listen to them in our parishes and institutions or include them in our discernment and decision-making?

On alms giving, he clarifies that while it cannot replace structural justice, it softens hardened hearts: "It is always better to do something rather than nothing."

No congregation was founded for the well-off, nor was any founded with a bank balance. The founders were God-experienced people who heard God's cry through the cry of the poor. Just as the Bible presents a Yahweh who heard the cry of the Israelites and came down to liberate them from slavery, the founders were disturbed by the realities of their times and localities and responded to the crisis with creativity and courage. Our predecessors started institutions with the intention of continuing their founders' original charism and mission in various places.

As consecrated religious, we are invited to learn several crucial lessons:

Simplicity and Prophetic Witness: Consecrated life is, by its very nature, prophetic. It calls us to live visibly among the poor in solidarity, resisting materialism, consumerism, and also 'me-ism.' When large sums are spent on dinners, decorations, and flower arrangements with little tangible effect, shouldn't we review some of our jubilees and solemn celebrations? Is our worship divorced from life? The poor cry out to us today. As religious, do we have the prophetic courage to respond to them proactively and accompany them in their struggle for a more just, humane, and hope-filled world?

Recognising Christ: We are called to recognise the suffering Christ in the wounded faces of the poor, making our service to them not merely a humanitarian act but a fundamental way of encountering Jesus Himself.

Integrating Faith and Works: "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17). Our prayer life must be integrated with concrete action through our various ministries. Pope Leo resonates with what Pope Francis had already said: "A prayer that does not lead to practical action for your brother or sister - the poor, a person in difficulty - is a sterile and incomplete prayer." If the poor beggar doesn't move our hearts, then the prayers inside never will.

Empowering the Marginalised: Our mission is to empower the weaker and underprivileged through integral development, not just academic education, but by uplifting them through innovative and creative ways. Instead of solely strengthening our institutions and alienating ourselves by building walls, we must empower others. Pope Leo anticipates those who might say, "It's complicated" or "we need more time." But he does not leave room for delay. Justice postponed is justice denied. The time to act is now! We must start today!

The Poor as Our Evangelisers: We usually think we are serving the poor and that they are the receivers. Pope Leo flips that idea: the poor teach us patience, resilience, hope, and trust in God—lessons we cannot learn anywhere else. In fact, we are the receivers, and they are our benefactors. We need to allow ourselves to be evangelised by their experiences.

Oases of Hospitality: Religious communities are called to be oases of dignity and hospitality, where no one is excluded. Like a mother, we are called to welcome, protect, and integrate migrants, refugees, the sick, and the uneducated. We must place them at the very heart of our life and mission, ensuring our charism translates into tangible gestures of love and justice. We need not go far to find the poor. In our own campus and in our own institutions, are we going to make them part of our planning? Are we going to accept their suggestions and feedback by listening to them?

Dilexi Te calls consecrated life to rediscover the radical Gospel path: to walk with the poor, listen to their stories, and allow their lives to evangelise us. As Paul says in Philippians 2:4, "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others." And in verse 5, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." Acts 4:34 exhorts us: "There was not a needy person among them." Unless we reduce our needs, which are often merely wants, how can we share with the needy?

Today, as our own comforts and demands multiply, our service risks becoming "self-service." If we plan in our communities to put screens on all our doors and windows, how can we think of giving clothes to the poor? "It is not a sin to be rich," Pope Leo reminds us, "but woe to us if we do not share."

Dilexi Te leaves us with a stirring challenge—to let love become active, courageous, and transformative, so that every encounter with the poor becomes an encounter with Christ Himself. This is not an option but an obligation and a necessity. Our service is admired by everyone. But when we serve and uplift the poor and marginalised and stand for justice on their behalf, we are sometimes accused of proselytism. Let us be prophets in doing good and face the consequences courageously.