Memory of the stigmata of St. Francis. He became like the Lord and received the signs of Jesus' wounds on Mount Verna. Read more
Memory of the stigmata of St. Francis. He became like the Lord and received the signs of Jesus’ wounds on Mount Verna.
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 Chronicles 10, 13-11,9
Thus died Saul in the infidelity of which he had been guilty towards Yahweh, in that he had not obeyed the word of Yahweh and because he had consulted a necromancer for guidance.
He had not consulted Yahweh, who therefore caused his death and transferred the monarchy to David son of Jesse.
All Israel then rallied to David at Hebron and said, 'Look, we are your own flesh and bone.
In days past when Saul was king, it was you who led Israel on its campaigns, and Yahweh your God promised you, "You are to shepherd my people Israel and be leader of my people Israel." '
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a pact with them in Yahweh's presence at Hebron, and they anointed David as king of Israel, in accordance with the word of Yahweh through Samuel.
David and all Israel then marched on Jerusalem (that is to say, Jebus); the inhabitants of the territory were the Jebusites.
The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, 'You will not get in here.' But David captured the citadel of Zion, that is, the City of David.
David said, 'The first man to kill a Jebusite will be made army commander and chief.' Joab son of Zeruiah was the first man to go up, and was made commander of the army.
David went to live in the citadel, and that is how it came to be called the City of David.
He then built a wall round the city, all round, beginning from the Millo, and Joab restored the rest of the city.
Thus David grew stronger and stronger, for Yahweh Sabaoth was with him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
With chapter 10 ends the genealogies and begins the narrative of the story of David, which occupies the entire first book of Chronicles. The author’s intention is to present David as the ideal king whose worship of and obedience to God dictates his actions. To stress this, the author speaks of Saul only to mention his death as a result of God’s justice. Saul was marked by "unfaithfulness" to the Lord for not having "kept" God’s word and for not having "consulted" Him. How could one think that Saul could still be "king", able to serve the Lord’s people, without listening to the Word of God and without listening to the wise and learned among the people? Saul fell prey to the temptation to be self-sufficient and to refer to himself for everything, to which everyone, no one excluded, young or old, can also fall prey. When we give in to this temptation, the ego always prevails. But the Lord "turned" the kingdom over to David. The author of Chronicles does not write about the civil war or the murders that preceded David’s investiture, which are referred to in the second book of Samuel, but rather, puts David as the king over all of Israel from the beginning. The author of Chronicles- different from what is narrated in the second book of Samuel- wants to emphasize the unity of the people, which David manifests and represents: one capital and one king, elected by all of Israel. The opening words of the eleventh chapter are clear: "Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, See, we are your bone and flesh.’" The Israelites willingly affirm their unity around David, chosen by God, so that Israel may call itself the Lord’s people. Without both parties choosing unity, this communion is not possible. This is true, obviously, in every type of society. What makes the alliance is neither ethnic nor strategic but rather, the foundation is made "before the Lord". A strategy from David was required to conquer the citadel of Zion so that it may become the capital for all of God’s people. The citadel, which was inhabited by the Jebusites, did not belong to the territory of any tribe, and would allow David more easily to unite the tribes of the north and the south. The author of Chronicles wants to emphasize that David’s heart’s desire is that there be unity among all peoples. Since the very beginning the unity of God’s people must appear under David’s leadership. And the city of Jerusalem, restored and fortified, became the symbol of unity of the people of Israel and the place where God’s presence dwells. The author concludes: "David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him." This phrase is already present in the second book of Samuel (5:10). It shows God’s predilection for David. It is the Lord who exercises supreme power over the armies of heaven and earth.
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
