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
1 Thessalonians 3, 1-5
When we could not bear it any longer, we decided it would be best to be left without a companion at Athens,
and sent our brother Timothy, who is God's helper in spreading the gospel of Christ, to keep you firm and encourage you about your faith
and prevent any of you from being unsettled by the present hardships. As you know, these are bound to come our way:
indeed, when we were with you, we warned you that we are certain to have hardships to bear, and that is what has happened now, as you have found out.
That is why, when I could not bear it any longer, I sent to assure myself of your faith: I was afraid the Tester might have put you to the test, and all our work might have been pointless.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul had just asked Silvanus and Timothy to come to him from Berea to Athens (Acts 17:15); but the news of the attacks of persecution to the Thessalonian community (2:14; 3:3 ff) again require that they separate. The decision to remain alone is not easy for him, because Timothy is for him a "beloved son" and "brother;" but he is also a "co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ," and as such has the primary responsibility of carrying on the proclamation. Paul’s love for the Thessalonian community is stronger than the love he has for himself, to the point of letting go of his friend in order to send him to the community which needs him because they are in danger. He -writes Paul- comes "to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so that no one should be shaken by these persecutions" (3:2-3). The suffering that the Gospel causes is the destiny of every Christian community. The Gospel is different than the world, and its "prophecy" inevitably provokes the opposition of the world. Prophecy and hostility are two inseparable dimensions in the life of the Church. As if to confirm this, the apostle notes that there are difficulties also in Corinth. And the Thessalonian Christians know this: "you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for. In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know" (3:3-4). The Thessalonians know of the sufferings which Paul has personally experienced, but also of the strength he has shown in continuing his pastoral mission. In any case, Paul is concerned for the life of the community. He knows that behind the persecutions the "tempter" is hiding, the prince of division and of evil; and he knows his strength. His solicitous love for the young community gives him no rest. He fears that the Christians of Thessalonica may yield to the temptations which characterize the end of days. And he does not want his toil to have been in vain, since God’s own work is revealed in it.
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
