Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 12,24-13,5
The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers. Barnabas and Saul completed their task at Jerusalem and came back, bringing John Mark with them. In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, 'I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.' So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So these two, sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there set sail for Cyprus. They landed at Salamis and proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; John acted as their assistant.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Up until now, the Christian community had been guided by the Spirit to grow and become stronger in the context of the Jewish world. In Acts chapter 13, guided by the same Spirit, the Community now opens up to the wider horizons of the world. Luke describes this development with an important statement: "But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents." He is not talking about the numeric growth of the disciples or their geographic spread; he is talking about the Word of God. It is the Word that grows and multiplies. Luke emphasizes that Christians are inhabited by the Gospel; they grow and spread if the Gospel grows and spreads. Barnabas and Saul are two disciples who leave from Antioch and set off on their first missionary voyage as bearers of- or better, born by - the word of God. The initiative for their mission did not come from their decision. It came from the Holy Spirit. That is what can be clearly seen in Luke’s account. He notes that while the community was gathered for prayer, they heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." The life of Jesus’ disciples is not simply guided by human decisions, as wise and just as they may be; it always flows from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Everything in the disciples’ lives flows from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the decision to send out the Gospel in mission is made by God, not human beings. And prayer remains the place from which life flows for every community: every good and just thing comes from God, who sets every mission into motion. Paul and Barnabas are not just chosen because of their capabilities, but because they were named by the Spirit, just as the apostles were personally and intentionally chosen and called by Jesus. The two chosen men, named by the Lord and sent by the community, are its representatives and messengers. Their authority comes from their connection with God and is expressed in their connection with the community. And we should not forget that every disciple is called by God to listen to the Gospel every day in order to feel the drive and the strength to bring it all over the world.
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
