Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 11, 29-32
The crowds got even bigger and he addressed them, 'This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah.
For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation.
On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here.
On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
It is an old temptation to ask God for a sign, even if to budge what seems to us at times to be his silence, his indifference or, anyway, to get a confirmation of his presence. To ask God for a miracle or a sign does not go against the logic of the Gospel. Jesus himself teaches us to ask for "good things" in prayer. But faith, Jesus states in today’s Gospel, does not depend on the portentous acts we would like. It is enough to think that Jesus, passing along the streets of Galilee, had already performed several healing miracles and had worked other signs that clearly spoke of the coming of the new Kingdom, and yet a great many of the people continued in unbelief. Faith, generally, does not after portentous signs, if anything it is the condition for miracles to occur. Even today so many seek prodigious signs in order to nourish their faith. And when something extraordinary takes place so many gather there. If these "signs" come they are certainly gifts from the Lord. But we should be more attentive than we normally are to the "sign" par excellence that the Lord has given to all which is the "sign of Jonah." The early community read these words in the light of the Resurrection: "For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12:40). The "sign" of Jonah is therefore the Gospel’s central proclamation, that is, the mystery of Jesus’ death and Resurrection. To offer this sign is the equivalent of communicating to the world the heart of the story of Jesus: he offered his life on the cross for our salvation and the Father raised him from the dead. And this Gospel (Good News) is much more precious than the wisdom of Solomon and much stronger than Jonah’s preaching. "Something greater than Jonah is here" -Jesus says in the Gospel today. This is why the proclamation of the resurrection, i.e., of the victory of good over evil, of life over death, of love over hatred, cannot remain hidden within esoteric and restricted groups. This proclamation must shine forth over all humanity and show the way to follow. Christians - nobody excluded, from the youngest to the oldest - need to become lamp stands for 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!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
