Jesus the homeless statue:
Dublin, Ireland
Opening Prayer
O Christ of the least and the homeless, O Christ of the lost and betrayed, come close to me this night that I may come close to you. As you watched me with care at my soul's shaping look on me now with grace. As you blessed me with light at the sun's rising shine on me now with love. -Prayer from Iona Community (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible Yours is the day, yours is also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter. Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever. -Psalm 74: 16-19 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin I know, O Lord, that my life is not my own; it is not for me to direct my steps. O Lord, correct me, but with justice—Not in Your anger, lest You reduce me to nothing. -Jeremiah 10:23-24 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? -Mark 2: 5-8 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others Answer me, O Lord, for your lovingkindness is good; in the abundance of your mercies, turn to me -Psalm 69:16 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer Lord, we would like to change the world – make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as You intended for them to do.…We can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend. -Dorothy Day (1897-1980) 
Phoenix, Arizona
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