Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Ecclesiastes 4,7-12
And something else futile I observe under the sun:
a person is quite alone -- no child, no brother; and yet there is no end to his efforts, his eyes can never have their fill of riches. For whom, then, do I work so hard and grudge myself pleasure? This too is futile, a sorry business.
Better two than one alone, since thus their work is really rewarding.
If one should fall, the other helps him up; but what of the person with no one to help him up when he falls?
Again: if two sleep together they keep warm, but how can anyone keep warm alone?
Where one alone would be overcome, two will put up resistance; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Qohelet extends the preceding reflection on work, projecting it onto the future. And he gives a concrete example: the man who is alone, without heirs, without anyone. Such a one ceases not to toil and his eye is never sated with the contemplation of riches. But the disturbing question is raised: "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" In effect, his growing weary and busying himself is "hebel," it is work in the wind. The desire to have for oneself, to hoard for oneself, is "an evil business," "an ugly affair." There is no loneliness more radical than that which leads to being busy only for one’s self. Avarice inexorably leads to loneliness and dryness of heart. Ben Sira will say: "The eye of the greedy person is not satisfied with his share; greedy injustice withers the soul" (Sir 14:9). Greedy injustice leaves empty the soul and one’s life. It is an unforgivable mistake to try to enjoy only for one’s self. It is not possible to be happy all alone. This is why Qohelet writes: "Two are better than one." And he praises the benefits, the "advantages" (v. 9) of solidarity and its superiority over and against solitude. He illustrates three examples to graphically show the strength and beauty of solidarity. If one falls, there is another to help him up. If one sleeps next to another (here one should not read a reference to spouses), one can keep him warm. In pairs it is easier to defend oneself and put the potential plunderer to flight. The pericope ends with a proverb: "A threefold cord is not quickly broken" (v. 12). This very ancient proverb, found even in the Gilgamesh epic, explains the symbolic meaning of the number two, which should not be taken literally. In fact, it affirms that a threesome is better! If friends are many, so much the better. Solidarity is stronger and more solid, in so far as it is broad, like a rope triply-braided. The conclusion is that man’s "good" is not solitude, but solidarity.
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
