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
Tobit 9,1-6
Then Tobias turned to Raphael.
'Brother Azarias,' he said, 'take four servants and two camels and leave for Rhages.
Go to Gabael's house, give him the receipt and see about the money; then invite him to come with you to my wedding feast.
You know that my father must be counting the days and that I cannot lose a single one without worrying him.
You see what Raguel has pledged himself to do; I am bound by his oath.' So Raphael left for Rhages in Media with the four servants and two camels. They stayed with Gabael, and Raphael showed him the receipt. He told him about the marriage of Tobias son of Tobit and gave him his invitation to the wedding feast. Gabael started counting out the sacks to him -- the seals were intact -- and they loaded them on to the camels.
Early in the morning they set off together for the feast, and reached Raguel's house where they found Tobias dining. He rose to greet Gabael, who burst into tears and blessed him with the words, 'Excellent son of a father beyond reproach, just and generous in his dealings! The Lord give heaven's blessing to you, to your wife, to your wife's father and mother! Blessed be God for granting me the sight of this living image of my cousin Tobit!'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This scene describes the recovery of the money that Tobit had left with Gabael in the city of Rages. This recovery, which was the real reason for Tobias’s journey, and which presented more than a few difficulties, unfolds in a straightforward but emotional way. Divo Barsotti, a recently deceased Italian monk, gives this commentary: "the brevity itself of the chapter tells us that once the journey’s destination had been reached, everything happens fast, everything hurries towards the conclusion. It has been a long and difficult journey to the destination, but, once it has been reached, everything becomes easy and smooth. Everything seems to be accomplished with surprising ease...the beginning is difficult; the first steps of the path on which the Lord leads us are tiring, but then, when we have really dedicated ourselves to obedience, it seems like God is doing everything himself." Certainly, the constant presence of angel with whom Tobias never stops speaking must be noted. This is what it means that God is a constant companion in our lives. It is the Lord who helps Tobias meet Gabael. He still had the funds that Tobit had given him (v. 5), a sign not only of his rare honesty, but also the extraordinary freedom from the slavery of money, which he enjoys. Inspired by the spiritual instinct that ties men and women to God, Gabael is moved to tears and embraces Tobias when he sees him. A prayer of blessing for Tobias rises from his lips: "Good and noble son of a father good and noble, upright and generous! May the Lord grant the blessing of heaven to you and your wife, and to your wife’s father and mother. Blessed be God, for I see in [you] the very image of my cousin Tobit." Gabael places the young Tobias and his family under the watch and the protection of God.
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
