Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Corinthians 1,18-22
As surely as God is trustworthy, what we say to you is not both Yes and No. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, that is, by me and by Silvanus and Timothy, was never Yes-and-No; his nature is all Yes. For in him is found the Yes to all God's promises and therefore it is 'through him' that we answer 'Amen' to give praise to God. It is God who gives us, with you, a sure place in Christ and has both anointed us and marked us with his seal, giving us as pledge the Spirit in our hearts.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Preachers had appeared in the community of Corinth who had criticised and accused Paul, questioning his sincerity, his apostolicity and the gospel he had proclaimed. This had also happened in Galatia. Paul is forced to defend himself, even though his defence is primarily of the Gospel he preached and for which he had received confirmation from the other apostles gathered in Jerusalem. With this letter, Paul wants to reaffirm the value of his proclamation, which comes from the grace of God and not from the wisdom or strength of 'the flesh'. And this is why he can 'boast'. But it is not the boasting of vainglory about one's own, perhaps alleged, qualities. It is a temptation with which many of us are familiar. The boasting of which the apostle speaks is that of one who spends his life to proclaim the gospel; of one who can present to the Lord a community that is the fruit of his preaching. With this in mind, the apostle elsewhere says: "The one boasts, should boast in the Lord." It is this boasting that drives Paul to confirm his affection and concern for the community. He would have liked to visit it soon but was prevented from doing so and had to change his plans. It is therefore not a matter of fickleness: "As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been 'Yes and No.'" (v. 18). His missed visit is therefore not a sign of disinterest or fear in the face of those who accused him. With these words Paul reaffirms the common call addressed by Christ to him and to a community, to which he now feels united by the same anointing and the common seal of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
