Memory of the Apostles Philip and James Read more
Memory of the Apostles Philip and James
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Galatians 3, 6-14
Abraham, you remember, put his faith in God, and this was reckoned to him as uprightness.
Be sure, then, that it is people of faith who are the children of Abraham.
And it was because scripture foresaw that God would give saving justice to the gentiles through faith, that it announced the future gospel to Abraham in the words: All nations will be blessed in you.
So it is people of faith who receive the same blessing as Abraham, the man of faith.
On the other hand, all those who depend on the works of the Law are under a curse, since scripture says: Accursed be he who does not make what is written in the book of the Law effective, by putting it into practice.
Now it is obvious that nobody is reckoned as upright in God's sight by the Law, since the upright will live through faith;
and the Law is based not on faith but on the principle, whoever complies with it will find life in it.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by being cursed for our sake since scripture says: Anyone hanged is accursed,
so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles in Christ Jesus, and so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul makes it clear to the Galatians that Abraham had descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky (cf. Gen 15:5) only because of his faith and not because of any special qualities or strength. Indeed, it was impossible for him to have even one son with Sarah. But Abraham believed in God’s promise and was given a son as a gift. In fact, Judaism had already noticed Abraham’s faith, but it stressed in particular the specific acts by which he fulfilled the law. In this sense, Judaism spoke of being "descended from Abraham" in a way that meant more than simple physical descent: a true son or daughter of Abraham was someone who fulfilled the precepts of the law. Paul instead maintains that Abraham’s faith consists in his total abandonment to God. This is the "faith" that God demands of men and women. And so the sons and daughters of Abraham are "those who believe," that is, those who live on faith. Believers are the only ones who can take the title of son or daughter. For Paul, Abraham is the model of what would happen in the fullness of time with Jesus. In Abraham’s "faith" God blessed and justified all people, all those who "by faith" would entrust themselves to God through Jesus Christ: "Those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed." Those who entrusted themselves instead to the observance of the law were still under a curse; whoever broke even one precept was subject to a curse. In fact, Paul maintains, the Scriptures already showed the true path to justice when they affirm that the just obtain life "by faith." Christ’s love has freed "us from the curse of the law." With his death on the cross, he became "a curse for us." The one who was without sin took on the sins of the world. The one who was holy became cursed to free us from the curse of the law. In Jesus, the "blessing of Abraham" comes to everyone, to every human being, whatever their race, language, or culture. Thus, Paul writes to the Galatians that we were drawn into salvation when, through faith, "we received the promise of the Spirit." And to the Romans Paul can say, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." (Rom. 8:2).
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
