May 2, 2025

Dear Friends in Christ,

On Day 8, we reflect on Pope Francis’s unwavering concern for the poor—not just in word, but in deep, personal action. He urged us to go beyond charity, to encounter Christ in the faces of the forgotten. As we meditate on his witness, may we ask God for the grace to see and serve the poor with dignity and love.

Day 8

True Concern for the Poor
During Lent and beyond, Pope Francis called for a genuine concern for the poor, urging the faithful to go beyond mere charity and to engage in meaningful relationships with those in need. He taught that true compassion involves seeing the face of Christ in the marginalized.
Prayer: God of the poor, awaken in us a deeper compassion. Let Pope Francis’s concern for the least among us shape our actions and guide the Church’s mission.

SAINT OF THE DAY

Saint of the Day for May 2:
Athanasius

(c. 296 – May 2, 373)

Listen to Saint Athanasius’ Story Here

Athanasius led a tumultuous but dedicated life of service to the Church. He was the great champion of the faith against the widespread heresy of Arianism, the teaching by Arius that Jesus was not truly divine. The vigor of his writings earned him the title of doctor of the Church.

Born of a Christian family in Alexandria, Egypt, and given a classical education, Athanasius became secretary to Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, entered the priesthood and was eventually named bishop himself. His predecessor, Alexander, had been an outspoken critic of a new movement growing in the East—Arianism.

When Athanasius assumed his role as bishop of Alexandria, he continued the fight against Arianism. At first, it seemed that the battle would be easily won and that Arianism would be condemned. Such, however, did not prove to be the case. The Council of Tyre was called and for several reasons that are still unclear, the Emperor Constantine exiled Athanasius to northern Gaul. This was to be the first in a series of travels and exiles reminiscent of the life of Saint Paul.

After Constantine died, his son restored Athanasius as bishop. This lasted only a year, however, for he was deposed once again by a coalition of Arian bishops. Athanasius took his case to Rome, and Pope Julius I called a synod to review the case and other related matters.

Five times Athanasius was exiled for his defense of the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. During one period of his life, he enjoyed 10 years of relative peace—reading, writing, and promoting the Christian life along the lines of the monastic ideal to which he was greatly devoted. His dogmatic and historical writings are almost all polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism.

Among his ascetical writings, his Life of St. Anthony achieved astonishing popularity and contributed greatly to the establishment of monastic life throughout the Western Christian world.

Reflection

Athanasius suffered many trials while he was bishop of Alexandria. He was given the grace to remain strong against what probably seemed at times to be insurmountable opposition. Athanasius lived his office as bishop completely. He defended the true faith for his flock, regardless of the cost to himself. In today’s world we are experiencing this same call to remain true to our faith, no matter what.

MINUTE MEDITATIONS

Commit to the Common Good

Solidarity means we are all in this together, and none of us can say, “Your end of the Titanic is sinking.” As St. John Paul II put it, solidarity “is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.”

As with all Catholic social teaching, solidarity has deep biblical roots in both the Old and New Testaments. The author of the Acts of the Apostles summarizes those roots nicely when he says that God “made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:26–27).

—from St. Anthony Messenger’s “The Church’s Best-Kept Secret“
by Mark P. Shea

PAUSE+PRAY

Outgoing Calls

Reflect

I stood on the dock of a frozen pond, and the ice began making echoing, eerie noises as it shifted. I was suddenly inspired to call one of my adult children and let them know how much I love them. Later, I saw on my phone log that the call was only two minutes–it had felt like 20!-yet I had poured out my heart. Who might you want to call today, expressing the love you feel toward them?

Pray

Jesus,
You speak of love over and over,
taking what is within your Sacred Heart and making it heard.
Following you, listening to you, all my love grows deeper.
Show me how to speak of love, like you.
Words of love: The only words that matter.

Act

Make that call today. Trust that the spirit will guide you to say the exact right thing.

Today's Pause+Pray was written by Maureen O'Brien. Learn more here!