If you consider the poor in the light of faith, you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor . . . Christ made himself theservant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or againsthimself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor . . . Therefore, wemust try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions . . . Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars.
– St. Vincent de Paul
