Day 7 Reflection | World Day of the Poor Novena 2026
This reflection was written by Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK), a member of Caritas Social Action Network which accompanies, serves and advocates alongside refugees and people seeking asylum.
Drawing upon its experience of accompanying people seeking sanctuary in the UK, JRS UK explores how immigration policies can push individuals and families into poverty, isolation and uncertainty, denying them opportunities to work, participate in society and rebuild their lives.
For the seventh day of our World Day of the Poor Novena, JRS UK invites us to reflect upon the biblical call to welcome the stranger and challenges us to recognise refugees not as problems to be managed, but as neighbours whose dignity, gifts and hopes deserve to be recognised and respected.
The people addressed in today’s reading from Leviticus are reminded that they, too, once knew what it was to be strangers, and to offer hospitality and welcome to others.
Throughout Scripture, God’s concern for the foreigner is inseparable from God’s concern for justice.
Yet many people seeking sanctuary today find themselves not only denied vital protections & access to asylum, but also trapped in poverty, deliberately excluded from the means needed to live with dignity.
Alongside the lack of safe routes to find protection, and ever-increasing attempts to stop asylum cases being heard at all, people seeking asylum are prevented from working, often for months or years while waiting for decisions.
New proposals will shackle newly recognised refugees – people whose need for protection has been recognised – with debt, after being forced to rely on asylum support to survive.
Refugee protection has been made temporary, meaning that many live with constant uncertainty, unable to plan for the future, support their families, or use their gifts for the good of society.
All of this pushes people to the margins. Poverty in these circumstances takes many forms: struggling to meet basic needs, being prevented from participating fully in community life, of having one’s dignity overlooked and one’s voice unheard.
Yet the witness of people we accompany at JRS UK reminds us that even in the midst of hardship, resilience and hope endure. We try to accompany people holistically, providing practical support alongside expert advice, befriending, and wellbeing activities. Our refugee friends shape our work and often deliver services themselves, and we try and give as much choice and agency to people as we can. We want to, as much as possible, make sure people can participate and contribute in the ways they feel able to.
“A big difference when you actually have a choice and you don’t have a choice. It’s very, very important for self-esteem and dignity, and to feel like a human being.”
We pray for all those who are pushed into poverty because of their immigration status. May they find welcome, friendship and safety. We pray, too, for the courage to challenge policies and attitudes that exclude, and to help build a society in which every person is recognised not as a problem to be managed, but as a neighbour, a brother or sister, beloved by God.
