Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Thessalonians 2,1-8
You know yourselves, my brothers, that our visit to you has not been pointless. Although, as you know, we had received rough treatment and insults at Philippi, God gave us the courage to speak his gospel to you fearlessly, in spite of great opposition. Our encouragement to you does not come from any delusion or impure motives or trickery. No, God has approved us to be entrusted with the gospel, and this is how we preach, seeking to please not human beings but God who tests our hearts. Indeed, we have never acted with the thought of flattering anyone, as you know, nor as an excuse for greed, God is our witness; nor have we ever looked for honour from human beings, either from you or anybody else, when we could have imposed ourselves on you with full weight, as apostles of Christ. Instead, we lived unassumingly among you. Like a mother feeding and looking after her children, we felt so devoted to you, that we would have been happy to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, so dear had you become.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul recalls the happy outcome of God's action in Thessalonica, where he had arrived after the sad experiences he had had in Philippi, where with Silvanus he had been flogged, thrown into prison, and finally forced to leave the city. Even in Thessalonica Paul proclaimed the Gospel of God "in the midst of much strife," but despite this he is neither discouraged nor despondent. His strength lies in his union with God that generates freedom and confidence to preach the Gospel. And with clarity the apostle states that his preaching is upright, sincere and free from self-interest, because he has received this task from God himself. And to God he is accountable. The apostle is aware that he must be pleasing only to God, and not to people, and therefore he does not go in search of peoples support. He preaches the gospel of God "whether the time is favourable and unfavourable" (2 Tim 4:2). He knows very well that he must banish from himself both ambition and greed, which would lead him away from the Gospel and from God himself. As an apostle he could have insisted on his authority and perhaps demanded respect and honours, instead he preferred the way of meekness, of selfless dedication to others. He behaved like a mother, a mother who offers her child not only milk but great love. This is the source of a true pastoral passion of the apostle who says: "So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves" (1 Thess 2:8). The proclamation of the Gospel always impels one to a superabundant love that leads to giving one's life; and it is thus that the apostle dedicates himself to preaching the Word of God not only with words, but with the example of his conduct in the community. When the Gospel is lived out in life, his preaching gains strength and effectiveness to change hearts.
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
