Memorial of St. Seraphim of Sarov, a Russian monk and staretz (+1833). He communicated peace by witnessing the Easter joy and the action of the Holy Spirit Read more
Memorial of St. Seraphim of Sarov, a Russian monk and staretz (+1833). He communicated peace by witnessing the Easter joy and the action of the Holy Spirit
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
Leviticus 23,1.4-11.15-16.27.34-37
Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: "These are Yahweh's solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you will summon the Israelites on the appointed day: "The fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, is the Passover of Yahweh; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for Yahweh. For seven days you will eat unleavened bread. On the first day you will hold a sacred assembly; you will do no heavy work. For seven days you will offer food burnt for Yahweh. On the seventh day there will be a sacred assembly; you will do no heavy work." ' Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: 'Speak to the Israelites and say: "When you enter the country which I am giving you and reap the harvest there, you will bring the priest the first sheaf of your harvest, and he will present it to Yahweh with the gesture of offering, for you to be acceptable. The priest will make this offering on the day after the Sabbath, "From the day after the Sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you will count seven full weeks. You will count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then you will offer Yahweh a new cereal offering. 'But the tenth day of this seventh month will be the Day of Expiation. You will hold a sacred assembly. You will fast and offer food burnt for Yahweh. 'Speak to the Israelites and say: "On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there will be the feast of Shelters for Yahweh, lasting for seven days. The first day will be a day of sacred assembly; you will do no heavy work. For seven days you will offer food burnt for Yahweh. On the eighth day you will hold a sacred assembly and you will offer food burnt for Yahweh. It is a day of solemn meeting; you will do no heavy work. "These are Yahweh's solemn festivals to which you will summon the Israelites, the sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering food burnt for Yahweh, consisting of burnt offerings, cereal offerings, sacrifices and libations, each on its appropriate day,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
God lays out the celebrations that should mark the life of his people, define its time, so that they may understand his love in their daily lives and live out the vocation entrusted to them. The rhythm of the time is established by God, and it wants to emphasize mean that history does not run randomly but has a precise destination, not only for the people of Israel but also for the other peoples of the earth. God marks the days of his people so that they may live and witness the mystery of salvation to others. God's time enters human beings' time to ferment it with his grace and destine it to the fulness of salvation. The text of Leviticus is the first draft of the liturgical time of the people of Israel. It is established that the first festival is the Passover of the Lord, which takes place between March and April. In it the sacrifices consumed by the fire are offered to the Lord. On the feast of unleavened bread, which takes place at the beginning of the harvest, the first fruits are offered to the Lord. To offer to God the first fruits of the earth means to recognize his lordship. Not only are we not the masters of the earth, but we must also remember that we have received everything free of God. It is good that the first fruits are given to the Lord. Thus, we learn the sense of gratitude and restitution as a rule of our life both to the Lord and to our brothers and sisters. The times of festivals help men and women to discover their freedom oof being fully with God, of putting him at the centre and therefore finding the heart of their life and the meaning of their journey.
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
