Memorial of Saint Scholastica (480 AD 547ca), sister of Saint Benedict. With her we remember all women hermits and nuns together with all the women who follow the Lord Read more
Memorial of Saint Scholastica (480 AD 547ca), sister of Saint Benedict. With her we remember all women hermits and nuns together with all the women who follow the Lord
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
Mark 6, 53-56
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored there.
When they disembarked people at once recognised him,
and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was.
And wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were saved.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus went to the other side, reaching the disciples overwhelmed by the waves of the lake of Galilee. His presence calms the sea and the wind, like it calms the heart of each of us when it is in distress and when taken by itself. As soon as they disembark, the Gospel says that “people at once recognized him.” People recognize in him mercy, goodness, the power of healing and forgiveness. For this they come to him from all over, bringing the sick before him. It is a usual scene in the Gospels. Jesus is always surrounded by the crowd: he does not withdraw from their questions, he does not send anyone away, on the contrary, he lives among them. It makes us think of our Christian life, of our communities. A question arises of how we live the power of healing and salvation that the Lord came to give us. Are we concerned about preserving what we have instead of going out to meet the people, of understanding their questions and their needs? It is also true that in this time of crisis, many are looking for us, they ask for help, sometimes even crowd in our welcome centres. Are we ready to welcome their words or does hurry hinder us from the patience of listening? Does it inhibit the power of the grace that the Lord has entrusted us to be communicated? We see how important it was for those people, at least, to touch Jesus. It was so for the haemorrhaging woman. It is not a magic gesture, but it shows the strength of humanity that comes from him, from his love. Jesus does not hold back, he knows how important the contact with others is, especially with those in need; he knows how necessary gestures and words of tenderness are. Often Pope Francis invites us to “touch the wounds of Jesus touching those of the poor.” Today we are all a bit more fearful, dominated by a false respect that makes everybody harder, colder, and brisker. So we lack the gestures of tenderness, of friendship, of which there is so much need. Let others invade our territory, let them cross our boundaries, so that through us they may meet the power of the love of Jesus who heals and saves.
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
