What relationships does God call us to? Around One Table | As I have loved you

Julian Paparella

Monday, March 16, 2026

Photo of a piece of flatbread being held over a table by a pair of hands.

"Take and eat, this is my Body." Photo by Cathopic.

What relationships does God call us to? Around One Table

A reflection on Chapter 4 of Dilexi Te

In last week’s reflection on Chapter 3 of Dilexi Te, we looked at the kind of Church that God calls us to be. Inspired by the witnesses of saints who have marked history, we saw how the Church is called to be on the side of those who are poor and marginalized, as God himself is. Chapter 4 begins with a helpful overview of Catholic social teaching regarding solidarity with the poor, characterizing the Church’s relationship with the poor as a story that is ongoing. The major thrust of the chapter is that those who experience poverty are not merely the recipients of charity or people that we should feel bad for. Rather, they are members of society whose voices, stories, and agency cry out for our recognition, respect, solidarity, and collaboration.

Structures of Sin

Catholic social teaching has long realized that sin is not just a personal reality. It also applies to the unjust social structures that we contribute to and perpetuate. These social structures leave people at home and abroad in cycles of poverty, exclusion, and marginalization. The Gospel therefore calls us to conversion not just as individuals, but also on a wider social, political, and economic level.

We are all born with an equal God-given dignity. Sadly, we are not all born equal in terms of our situation in society and our opportunities in life. Echoing the words of Pope Francis, Leo has identified inequality as “the root of all social ills,” and affirmed that “in practice, human rights are not equal for all” (#94). On a global scale, we could think of political and economic structures propping up regimes that promote genocide and unjust wars, with no concern for the lives and dignity of countless civilians. From a Canadian perspective, we could think of the history and ongoing reality of inequality and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.

Pope Leo points out that structures of sin are “part of a dominant mindset that considers normal or reasonable what is merely selfishness and indifference” (#93). How easy it is to fall into these mindsets that keep us feeling unconcerned and unaffected by the suffering of others.

It then becomes normal to ignore the poor and live as if they do not exist. It then likewise seems reasonable to organize the economy in such a way that sacrifices are demanded of the masses in order to serve the needs of the powerful. Meanwhile, the poor are promised only a few “drops” that trickle down (#93).

Against this backdrop, “we need to be increasingly committed to resolving the structural causes of poverty” (#94). This disparity between different segments of humanity cannot simply be tolerated as a mere “fact of life” or “the way things are.” Injustice and inequality in our social and economic systems only seems normal for those who benefit from them. They are rightly intolerable for the people who suffer their devastating consequences. The difficulty is that these two groups are often separated from each other. They may live in different neighbourhoods, go to different schools, or inhabit different parts of the planet.

The first step towards genuine solidarity is getting to know one another as fellow human beings, knowing each other’s names and stories, and starting to work together on equal footing as partners towards a more just and human future for all. This vision for the future may sound like utopia, but it is in fact the path to God’s kingdom which we are called to walk here and now, not waiting for things to work themselves out or get better on their own. God summons us to be coworkers with him on the path of justice and peace, one step at a time.

Around One Table

Pope Leo makes his own the words of the landmark Aparecida Document by the Bishops of Latin America:

The stark differences between rich and poor invite us to work with greater commitment to being disciples capable of sharing the table of life, the table of all the sons and daughters of the Father, a table that is open and inclusive, from which no one is excluded” (#99, quoting the Message of the Fifth General Conference to the Peoples of Latin America, p. 74, “Servers of a Shared Table”).

Each year during the season of Advent we are reminded of the words of the Prophet Isaiah, who speaks of “valleys being exalted” and “hills being made low” to “make straight the way of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3-5). Likewise, Mary in her Magnificat praises God for “casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly” (Luke 1:52). Without wanting to sound overly revolutionary: if we are to come together around the same table as equals, we need to rebalance the gross inequalities that mark our societies.

God does not want a select few who are exceedingly wealthy while others go hungry. Nor does God wish to consolidate power in the hands of a mighty elite. Rather, God reveals his style of leadership at the Last Supper. Jesus sits around the table with his apostles. He makes himself as one of them, and they are one with him. Jesus does not amass riches or sit on a lavish throne, making others serve him. Rather, it is he – the Lord and Master – who gets up from the table, takes off his outer garment, and ties a towel around his waist in order to bend down and wash the feet of his disciples, taking upon himself the task of the slave.

God who is high above us puts himself on our level. He is not ashamed to identify personally with us, including with our vulnerability, our weaknesses, and our shortcomings. He does not keep a safe distance away but comes to us, up close and personal. He sits around the table with us and calls us to welcome one another as equals, as his fellow children, as brothers and sisters.

How can seeing things from God’s point of view impact our ways of approaching those brothers and sisters of ours who are disadvantaged, excluded, and marginalized? How does God’s perspective change our way of understanding the relationships between powerful nations and less powerful populations around the world? What kind of relationships does God call us to have with each other as fellow human beings, based not on success, prestige, and wealth, but rather on solidarity, compassion, and fraternity? What is the first step that you can take this week?

Father, You dream of gathering all Your children around the same table in Your Kingdom. Guide our steps on the path of justice and peace, and open our hearts to love one another as brothers and sisters in the one family of humanity. Amen.