Memorial of Our Lady of Sheshan, sanctuary nearby Shanghai in China. Prayer for Chinese Christians. Read more
Memorial of Our Lady of Sheshan, sanctuary nearby Shanghai in China. Prayer for Chinese Christians.
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
Mark 9,41-50
'If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, then in truth I tell you, he will most certainly not lose his reward. 'But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone hung round his neck. And if your hand should be your downfall, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire thatnever be put out. And if your foot should be your downfall, cut it off; it is better for you enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should be your downfall, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm will never die nor their fire be put out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This passage from the Gospel of Mark should be read in the context of the conditions set by Jesus for entering and remaining in the community of the children of the Kingdom of God. It is true that they are demanding words, but only because the Lord came to establish a new and stable way of life that demands radical choices. Consequently, the Gospel is severe with those who tempt or endanger the faith of the little ones, that is, those who scandalize the weak and the poor in the community. To "scandalize" means to "make stumble," to "make fall." The term "scandal" is used in Scripture to indicate everything that acts as an obstacle for others on the path to goodness. Keeping others from knowing the good means closing the door to understanding the Lord, the source of goodness and love. This is why "scandal" is so serious. Whoever creates an obstacle to faith and whoever refuses to help someone in need is severely condemned by the Gospel. Jesus goes as far as saying that it would be better for these people to put a millstone around their neck and throw themselves in the sea. Jesus' words are severe: we obviously should not take this recommendation literally, but we should understand that there is a main concern we cannot avoid: we cannot be a stumbling block for anyone on the path to love. The Gospel demands that we be severe with ourselves: "If your hand (foot or eye) causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell." Unfortunately, it is easy to be indulgent with ourselves and consequently severe with others. We are ready to accuse others and more than eager to excuse our errors; or, as is said in another Gospel passage, ready to see the speck in another's eye but unable to recognize the beam in our own. The Gospel always demands that we reject evil, wickedness, and selfishness. This is the only way to preserve the flavour of the Gospel. "Have salt in yourselves," Jesus says, that is, "Have love in yourselves." And from love comes peace.
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
