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Leader: Let us remember

All: That we are in the Holy Presence of God.

before the Emperor Hadrian]

Reader: Christians love one another. They never fail to help widows. They save orphans from those who would hurt them. Someone who has something, freely gives it to the person who has nothing. If they see strangers, Christians take them into their homes, and treat them as brothers and sisters - not that they consider themselves as brothers and sisters in the usual sense, but brothers and sisters through the Spirit, in God. And if they hear that one of them is in jail, or is persecuted for professing the name of their Redeemer, they all give him what he needs. If it is possible, they bail him out of jail. If any of them are poor and there isn't enough food to go around, they fast several days to give them the food they need. We are dealing with a new kind of person. There is something divine in them.

(Short Pause)

Response: Based on Matthew 25: 31-46

Left: I was hungry for a generous word, and you smiled and talked warmly.

I was hungry for a gesture of kindness, and you went beyond what I had hoped for.

I was hungry for genuine understanding, and you heard beyond my words.

Right: I was thirsty for life and vitality, and you helped me to grow.

I was thirsty for encouragement, and you affirmed me and built me up.

I was thirsty for moral support, and willingly you shared my cup of suffering.

Left: I felt lonely, and you blessed me with your presence.

I was a stranger to genuine welcome, and you gave me your full attention.

I was a stranger to care and appreciation, but you treated me with courtesy and respect.

Right: I was stripped of my good name through untrue rumors, but you spoke up for me.

I felt naked when others belittled me, but you remained constant and faithful.

I felt diminished and vulnerable, but you restored my confidence and faith.

Left: I felt overburdened, but you lifted me up and helped carry my cross.

I felt tired and downcast, but you lifted my spirits.

I was anxious about my future, but your love cast out my fear.

Right: I felt imprisoned by those who judged me, but you accepted me as I was.

I was imprisoned by the hurt of broken relationships, but you eased the pain.

I felt entrapped by circumstances, but you helped to free me from what oppressed me.

Yours are the only hands with which he can do his work.

Yours are the only feet with which he can go about doing good.

Yours are the only eyes through which his compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.

- St. Teresa of Avila

(Short Pause)

Reader 2: Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's Theory of Relativity to serve. You only need a heart full of grace - a soul generated by love.

- Martin Luther King

(Short Pause)

Reader 3: When you die, the Lord will not ask you how much you have done with your life,

but how much love you have put into the doing.

- Mother Teresa

(Short Pause)

Reader 4: When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.

When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.

- Dom Helder Camara

(Short Pause)

All: Gracious God,

Let your resurrected life find witness in our lives,

Let us be for others what you are for us.

As you provide us with your grace each and every day,

let us become your grace for others

and true followers of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Leader: Saint John Baptist de La Salle

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Saint Miguel

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Live Jesus in our hearts.

All: Forever.