Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 4,32-37
The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common. The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they were all accorded great respect. None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need. There was a Levite of Cypriot origin called Joseph whom the apostles surnamed Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement'). He owned a piece of land and he sold it and brought the money and presented it to the apostles.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
For the second time, Luke proposes a synthesis of the life of the Christian community, as if wanting to underline the fact that these features are essential for the Christian communities of every age. It is not possible for a community to be Christian if it does not live in communion. The author of acts opens this passage by speaking of the multitude of people who have welcomed the Gospel. This multitude is not an anonymous masse of people who find themselves together by chance or because of shared interested or to achieve a goal. That multitude has been so profoundly transformed by the Holy Spirit that it was now “of one heart and soul.” We could say that it has changed from being an anonymous crowd to a people gathered by the Spirit of God. In fact, the Gospel creates an atmosphere of communion among those who welcome it. Everyone is freed from that individualistic spirit that deeply characterizes us. When the author of Acts speaks of Baptism, he is referring to immersion in the communion with the Lord. A profound transformation occurs that brings together each one and makes them into one body, one soul, and one person. The bond that ties them together is not psychological, nor is it due to their personality, origin, or language. They are bound by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus. It is such a deep bond that it changes how they live, to the point that “no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common,” writes Luke. The spirit of communion fills the entire life of the community to the point that they held their possessions in common: “no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common” (v. 32). This image of the community, which might seem utopian, tells the disciples of all times, the path to follow: communion and sharing. It is a transformation in the relationships between believers, a fruit of the power of the Gospel welcomed into each person’s heart. The example of Barnabas reported in Acts underlines that the path of communion and sharing is not an impossible or distant dream. If the Gospel is welcomed with faith, it changes the hearts and the lives of the disciples of the Lord. And the witness of the community becomes attractive. Luke’s comment that “great grace was upon them all,” indicates the power of the testimony of the Christian community to men and women. Christian communities are called to inspire in the hearts of our cities, which are often deserts and lacking love, that same “great grace” enjoyed by the first community of Jerusalem.
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
