Another important element of discipleship is that we care genuinely, compassionately, care for the poor, and we defend the weak, the people who are being scapegoated, the people who are being gossiped about. We don’t join in the gossip, we care for them, we know that their reputation may be being destroyed by the gossip and we say ‘No I’m not going to be part of that’. And we care for the poor. And that’s a defining aspect of Christian discipleship, that because we are in touch with the living risen Jesus within us – and we know that from deep silence and deep prayer – that gives us the energy and the love and the impulse to care for the poor and defend the weak.
(Christian Life in the Light of Christian Meditation 1: Discipleship by Laurence Freeman OSB )
