Without Borders- Let Us Bring Hope

Leader: Let us begin as we begin all things: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening Reflection
Where do you come from, where are you going?
I come from all places, I have no name.
I know pain and hunger.
I seek land, home, food, Life!

Where do you come from, where are you going?
I come from the underground…
Forgotten and dark, fetid and filthy.
I seek Dignity and peace, the light of day.
Citizenship!

Where do you come from, Where are you going?
I come from the drainage ditch and from abandonment.
I know nostalgia and I lose hope.
I seek gestures of friendship.
Solidarity!

Where do you come from, where are you going?
I come from far and wide:
Black, yellow, white, indigenous.
I am your "other," different,
I am a person!

Where do you come from, where are you going?
I come from discrimination.
From prejudice
I know walls, laws, fears and loneliness.
I want a world without borders.
Or Flags!

Where do you come from, where are you going?
I come from resistance, from the struggle.
From situation of senselessness.
Valiant and intrepid in the voyage.
Of life I make rhyme and satire.
On the way to the Great Homeland!

- Fr. Alfredo Jose Goncalves, Brazil

Prayer

Leader: Drawn together by Christ's love, we pray for a world built on love and respect for one another.

All: O God of love and mercy, we Pray
For peace, justice and solidarity...
For the willingness to minister beyond our boundaries;
And serve unselfishly, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the imprisoned, the hungry and oppressed.
May we never grow complacent, and see this suffering as people and events that do not affect us.
For we know that we are all your children,
Entrusted with preserving and caring for one another with love, peace, justice and service.
Hear our Prayer, which we voice in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Reading

'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gve me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal anguish, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46 NRSV)

Beatitudes of Fr. Alfredo Jose Goncalves

Leader: Blessed are those who are the move, transforming exodus and flight into energy for a new search…

All: From the victims will come the protagonists of history.

Leader: Blessed are those who, forced to wander without direction, with wisdom learn and teach the lessons of the road…

All: They will be the architects of a new time.

Leader: Blessed are those who suffer pain, nostalgia and loneliness, yet know how to make of every arrival a new beginning…

All: They shall act with faith, hope and life.

Leader: Blessed are those who open borders and mix the anthems, flags, races and creeds…

All: Without discrimination, they make the world everyone's home.

Leader: Blessed are the wayfarers of all roads in the tears, sweat and the work of their hands…

All: They prepare a tomorrow of justice and right.

Leader: Blessed are those who open the door to pilgrims, making solidarity the passport to our common homeland….

All: They are constructing a new citizenship.

Leader: Blessed are those who foment encounters and re-encounters, sowing peace…

All: They will harvest flowers and stars in the new heaven and the new earth.

Leader: Blessed are the excluded, without opportunities and without voice…

All: They will be the first guests in the great banquet, where bread will not be lacking on anyone's table.

(Brief moment of silence)

Litany

1. Lord God, we come to you in our need. Create in us an awareness of the forces that threaten our world today.

All: Give us a sense of urgency to activate the forces of goodness, of solidarity, of dignity, of justice, of love, of service and peace.

2. Where there is armed conflict, let us stretch out our arms to our brothers and sisters.

All: Where there is abundance, let there be simple lifestyle and sharing.

3. Where there is poverty, let there be dignified living and constant striving for just structures. Where there are wounds of division, let there be unity and wholeness.

All: Help us be committed to the building of your kingdom.

4. Not seeking to be cared for, but to care. Not expecting to be served, but to place ourselves in the service of others. Not aspiring to be materially secure, but to place our security in your love.

All: Teach us your spirit. Only in loving imitation of you can we discover the healing springs of life that will bring new birth to our world.

Closing Reflection

To have hope is to believe that history continues, open to the dream of God and to human creativity…
To have hope is to continue affirming that it is possible to dream a different world: without hunger, without injustice, without discrimination…
To have hope is to be a courier of God and a courier of women and men of good will; tearing down walls, destroying borders, building bridges…
To have hope is to believe in the revolutionary potential of faith, to leave the door open so that the Spirit can enter and make all things new…
To have hope is to believe that life wins over death…
To have hope is to begin again as many times as necessary…
To have hope is to believe that hope is not the last thing that dies…
To have hope is to believe that hope cannot die, that hope no longer dies…
To have hope is to live.

Closing Prayer
All: Eternal God, grant us the perseverance to create in the world a just, compassionate and loving society. Make us agents of your compassion to the suffering, the persecuted and the oppressed. Stir in us the will to eliminate the cruelty, terror, disease and hunger that are the constant companions of so many. Strengthen us so that we might work together for the promotion of peace and love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Play song and sign one another with peace as we go forth on our journey.