Cut following the dotted lines Fold vertically in 4 parts Fold horizontally in 2 WOL word of life pay attention to the others “I am among you as one who serves.” [from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, verse 27] Then he did something to show them that he had brought his followers a whole new way of relating to others - he washed their feet. LOVE = SERVE Jesus gave us the example. The words of Jesus make us Christians aware that we have a debt of love towards everyone. With him and like him, we have to be able to say to each person we live with or meet during the day: “I am among you as one who serves.” But how should we serve? The answer is just three little words: “Make yourself one.” And that means “Try to live the other person’s life,” see how he or she feels, carry their burdens. “How can i do it with my little brothers and sisters? I’ll play with them!” You might think it’s a waste of time, but it isn’t. It’s all love, it’s all time gained, because in order to love, you have to make yourself one with others. “Do I really have to bring the plate to the table for them, or throw out the trash?” Yes, that’s exactly what you have to do, because Jesus wants us to serve in a concrete way, not just with good intentions. He talked about using our muscles, our legs, our minds. We really have to serve. How can we live this Word of Life? By paying attention to the other person and quickly doing what they need, loving with concrete actions. At times, we are also asked to help others who are far away, or even nearby, like the elderly, the unemployed, the handicapped, people who are alone. Or there might be an appeal for help from far-off countries after a natural disaster, or for adoptions-at-a-distance, or for other humanitarian projects. Let’s get rid of any attitude of “command” and remember that we are all brothers and sisters with everyone. F ourteen of us went from Europe to the Dominican Republic for three weeks. We went to work at the Café con Leche school, one of the projects supported by Schoolmates over the past ten years. We worked together with the children of the school, painting five classrooms, cleaning “CONCRETE LOVE” that’s what happened to: When Jesus had his Last Supper with his disciples, he broke the bread and shared the chalice with them, and then he gave them his final teaching. He told them that in his community, the greatest among them should become the smallest, and the one who governs as one who serves. up a field they could use for sports, tutoring and organizing games for 200 teens and children. It was a very strong experience for me. I was so happy that finally I could really do something, concretely, to make the world a better place. I saw how much the Dominican people enjoy life, even though they don’t have a lot of material goods. I feel I received much more than I gave, especially from the children! We worked very hard, using our muscles to paint and clean, and also as “teachers” when we tutored the ones who needed help. I saw how happy the children were – and so were we! We experienced great mutual love. We weren’t just visitors for them, or even teachers, but friends, big brothers. And they will always be our little brothers and sisters. [John]