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428 • Part III. Christian Morality: The Faith Lived
. . . We must therefore ensure that in every Christian com-
munity the poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the
greatest and most effective presentation of the good news of the
Kingdom? Without this form of evangelization through char-
ity and without the witness of Christian poverty the proclama-
tion of the Gospel, which is itself the prime form of charity,
risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words
which daily engulfs us in today’s society of mass communica-
tions. The charity of works ensures an unmistakable efficacy to
the charity of words.
—NMI, nos. 49-50
PRAYER
Father, we honor the heart of your Son, broken by our cruelty,
yet symbol of love’s triumph, pledge of all that we are called
to be.
Teach us to see Christ in the lives we touch and to offer him
living worship
by love-filled service to our brothers and sisters.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
—Alternative Opening Prayer, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart
(
Sacramentary
, 1973)
•
Let justice surge like water,
and goodness like an unfailing stream.
—Am 5:24