Load request xml from external file.

Hi All,
I was trying out my luck on loading the test properties file and got stuck.
This is what i was trying to do.

1.Load the test properties -> request xml file for test case.
i can load using the soap ui but got stuck when i tried from the groovy.

targetStep = testRunner.testCase.getTestStepByName("PingAuto")
def props = new java.util.Properties ()
file = new File("C:\\PingAutoRequest1.xml")
log.info(file)
fis = new java.io.FileInputStream (file )
log.info(fis)
props.load ("#TestCase#PingAuto")

Any help is appreciated