Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Timothy 4,12-16
Let no one disregard you because you are young, but be an example to all the believers in the way you speak and behave, and in your love, your faith and your purity. Until I arrive, devote yourself to reading to the people, encouraging and teaching. You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you; do not neglect it. Let this be your care and your occupation, and everyone will be able to see your progress. Be conscientious about what you do and what you teach; persevere in this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul asks Timothy that no one despise his young age (he was about thirty years old and had been with him for thirteen). Perhaps some, because of his youth, did not hold him into consideration. However, it is all too clear that in the community, authority does not come from years, but from an encounter with the Lord and conversion to the Gospel. Paul therefore exhorts Timothy to be an example "in speech, in conduct, in charity, in faith, in purity." This spiritual stature will give him the necessary authority to lead the community wisely. Paul has already communicated that it was his intention to join him as soon as possible (3:14), but he recommends Timothy that until his arrival he fulfils his service with the 'reading' of Holy Scripture in the church assemblies. Linked to this is the 'exhortation and teaching' that the Apostle asks him to do, so that the Word reaches the heart of the community's life. But to speak with authority, to explain the Gospel in preaching, one needs the Lord's help. And Paul reminds Timothy of the 'gift' of grace he received through the laying on of hands by the apostle himself and the college of elders. The exhortations then become pressing for Timothy to take care of all these things. The apostle exhorts him, "Devote yourself entirely to them." Thus, he will grow in wisdom and testimony and "all will see your progress." Paul exhorts him to deepen his study of Scripture and to live it every day. Growth in the knowledge of the Scriptures and in the love of the Lord will give him the authority he needs to lead the community. His and the community's 'salvation' depends on how he will know how to discipline himself, how he will know how to set a good example, and how he will know how to proclaim the Gospel.
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!
