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
Matthew 11,11-15
'In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return. Anyone who has ears should listen!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In this time of Advent, the Church presents John the Baptist as the one who prepares the way of the Lord. Jesus never spoke of anyone as much as he spoke of John the Baptist. In the preceding verses, Jesus introduces him as the prophet who knows how to wait for the Lord and points to him as an example believer (2-10). With his austere life, John had first and foremost prepared himself for the encounter with God: he fought with himself in order to allow the religious person to grow in his heart, the one who knows he must wait for the one sent by the Lord as the Messiah. He has become a spiritual person, a believer who lets himself be guided by the Spirit of God and not himself or his own traditions. This has all required a struggle with himself, made up of discipline, commitment, perseverance in prayer, detachment from wealth, obedience to God, and a bond between his heart and God. It is this process of "violence" against oneself that builds up the interior person. After having forged himself with this spiritual discipline, John was able to recognize Jesus as soon as he saw him approach. And then, with his preaching, he tried to find a way into the hearts of the men and women of his generation so that they would recognize and welcome the Messiah who was already among them. This is why Jesus proclaimed that there is "no one greater born of women," that is, that John is a unique brother sent to us so we might prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus as the Saviour. By saying that the least in the kingdom is greater than John, Jesus is encouraging his disciples to discover the grandeur of the vocation they have received, and which we too sometimes ignore. The Lord had such extraordinary faith in his disciples that he told them, "The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these" (Jn 14:12). We must consider this question: what do we do with the faith that the Lord has in each one of us? It is a question that should envelop us more closely in this time of preparation for Jesus' birth.
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
