“Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me'” (Mt. 25:37-40).
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are present in the needs of every human person
And in every action we take to meet those needs.
Lord, it is You whom we serve
When we serve our brothers and sisters.
We pray fervently today, Lord Jesus,
That we may never miss You,
That we may never be blind to You,
That we may never pass You by,
That we may never forget You.
It is You, Lord Jesus,
In our hungry and thirsty neighbors,
In our sick and imprisoned neighbors,
In our poor, homeless, needy neighbors,
And it is You, Lord Jesus, in the child in the womb!
Whatever we do to them, we do to You!
However we fail to serve them, we fail to serve You!
We pray, Lord, that we may not be surprised
When we see You on Judgment Day,
And You remind us that we have seen You before.
Preserve us from the misfortune of seeing You
But not recognizing You.
Lord, as our unborn brothers and sisters
Face the quiet danger of abortion
And the vulnerability of having no legal protection,
And as so many of them scream silently as they are aborted,
Keep our eyes open and our hearts responsive.
Lord, it is You in the womb!
May we find You there,
May we serve You there,
And may we defend You there,
That we ourselves may be saved!
For You are Lord forever and ever. Amen.
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life