Memorial of Saints Basil the Great (330-379), bishop of Caesarea and Father of monasticism in the East, and of Gregory Nazianzus (330-389), Doctor of the Church and Patriarch of Constantinople Read more
Memorial of Saints Basil the Great (330-379), bishop of Caesarea and Father of monasticism in the East, and of Gregory Nazianzus (330-389), Doctor of the Church and Patriarch of Constantinople
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth to the people he loves.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 1, 19-28
This was the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'
He declared, he did not deny but declared, 'I am not the Christ.'
So they asked, 'Then are you Elijah?' He replied, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' He answered, 'No.'
So they said to him, 'Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?'
So he said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight!'
Now those who had been sent were Pharisees,
and they put this question to him, 'Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?'
John answered them, 'I baptise with water; but standing among you -- unknown to you-
is the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal.'
This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel of John takes us to the beginning of Jesus’ public life and shows us the Baptist once again. One could say that the Baptist is the first person encountered while reading the fourth Gospel. He is a just and austere man who lives in the desert, away from the religious and political capital of Israel. Yet, many people come to him to receive a baptism of repentance and so be regenerated to a more peaceful life. They all hold him in high regard, to the point saying he is the Messiah, Elijah, or at least a great prophet. There was an extraordinary need for hope at that time. And is the need not as strong today, when we are all swept away by a life that often steals our smile and our serenity? We always need help, but even more so in a time of crisis like the one we are experiencing. But we should not forget that only Jesus saves, not anyone else. The temptation to look for saviours at a good price is dangerous, nor should we think of ourselves as saviours. The Baptist, a man of deep spirituality and wisdom, understood this well. Indeed, when the people began to tell him he was the “saviour,” he immediately denied it and insisted, “I am not the prophet...I am not the Messiah.” Of himself he said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.” And what is a voice? Little more than nothing. Yet the words of the Baptist spoke were not uttered in vain; they struck those who listened to them. They flowed from an honest, just, and, most importantly, spiritual heart. He spoke words that came from a profound heart and so they reached the hearts of those who listened to them willingly. This was his strength. It was a weak force, but it could touch the hearts of those who listened because those words contained spiritual strength. John is the figure of the witnesses of the Gospel; indeed we could say that he is figure of the Church itself: a voice that points out Jesus to the people of his time with spiritual authority. John does not belong to himself. He is not (and does not want to be) at the centre of the scene. He points to someone else, the Lord. Likewise, the Church does not belong to herself and does not live for herself. It lives in order to lead people towards Jesus. All should focus on this aim. And so it is for every disciple, whether an ordained minister or layperson: we are all called to bring others to Jesus, not to ourselves. The disciple is not a star who attracts others to herself, but a believer who points out the Lord to others. This is the disciple’s vocation and her joy.
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
