I’d like you to pray for an old man I see in the supermarket from time to time. He is filthy dirty, his clothes are heavily soiled, black with ingrained dirt and grime. Today I saw him shopping, counting the few coins he pulled from his pocket trying to work out whether he had enough money for a can of tinned fish. (When he wasn’t looking, I dropped a fiver into his shopping trolley). I’ve never seen him begging and I didn’t want to give it to him directly, as I thought it may hurt his pride. Please pray and do what you can to help people like this, old men who are filthy dirty tend to be looked down on, and are the last to gain any sympathy from the public. Don’t cross the road and look the other way, instead help if you can and pray for the person. God of Justice, open our eyes to see you in the face of the poor. Open our ears to hear you in the cries of the exploited. Open our mouths to defend you in the public squares as well as in private deeds. Remind us that what we do to the least ones, we do to you. Amen.