Charles de Foucauld came to the realization that he must live in the manner of the Man of Nazareth – and that he must do so where he could be of greatest service to others. He was drawn to the poorest of the poor. He longed to be a brother to them – to assure those whom the world despised that God had not forgotten them, and to share their fate.

If God, in his love for humankind, had taken on the form of a man and chosen the downward path of poverty, shouldn’t he – in solidarity with that man, Jesus – stand with the poor and powerless too?

I cannot travel first-class while the one I love went through life in the last.