Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Ecclesiastes 9,1-10
Yes, I have applied myself to all this and experienced all this to be so: that is to say, that the upright and the wise, with their activities, are in the hands of God. We do not understand either love or hate, where we are concerned, both of them are
futile. And for all of us is reserved a common fate, for the upright and for the wicked, for the good and for the bad; whether we are ritually pure or not, whether we offer sacrifice or not: it is the same for the good and for the sinner, for someone who takes a vow, as for someone who fears to do so.
This is another evil among those occurring under the sun: that there should be the same fate for everyone. The human heart, however, is full of wickedness; folly lurks in our hearts throughout our lives, until we end among the dead.
But there is hope for someone still linked to the rest of the living: better be a live dog than a dead lion.
The living are at least aware that they are going to die, but the dead know nothing whatever. No more wages for them, since their memory is forgotten.
Their love, their hate, their jealousy, have perished long since, and they will never have any further part in what goes on under the sun.
So, eat your bread in joy, drink your wine with a glad heart, since God has already approved your actions.
At all times, dress in white and keep your head well scented.
Spend your life with the woman you love, all the days of futile life God gives you under the sun, throughout your futile days, since this is your lot in life and in the effort you expend under the sun.
Whatever work you find to do, do it with all your might, for there is neither achievement, nor planning, nor science, nor wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Qohelet knows that "the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God" (v. 1). Wisdom will also write thus: "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no torment will ever touch them." But Qohelet affirms that humans know nothing of what pertains to their future, they do not even know with certainty if what they do is only love or if it is only hate. And above all, they do not know if God’s response will be love or hate. All is like a fog. One thing they know: that all die, righteous and unjust, pious and impious, good and wicked, pure and impure. Death levels everyone and applies to all (vv. 2-3). In front of death, any person experiences the fragility and weakness of his or her own life. What to do? Despite everything -writes the author- life is preferable to death: "for a living dog is better than a dead lion" (v. 4). As long as one lives there is a possibility of joy (vv. 7-9), while when one is dead all possibility of changing one’s lot vanishes and all hope is gone. Besides hope, the living have knowledge, at least knowledge that they will die (v. 5), but the dead are granted nothing, neither knowledge nor wisdom, or work, or thought, or hope (v. 10). The dead do not know anything and receive no reward because no one remembers them anymore. And leaving behind a good name is no consolation (cf. 7:1). With death, everything ends, whether one has loved or hated or been full of envy (v. 6). The prospect of death and ignorance of the afterlife should not however deprive one of the will to live and enjoy life. Rather, in the name of Adam who went out of the garden of Eden, he invites everyone to not desert the banquet of life: "Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart" (v. 7). Your works (v. 7), that is, all that you will do to procure joy and happiness for yourself, are pleasing to God, who wants our contentment. Life is a gift God grants, and we are invited to enjoy it together with the woman that one loves. White garments and perfumed oil are signs of the feast of joy that humans should celebrate (v. 8). Nevertheless Qohelet knows that life is fleeting (v. 9), not void of sorrows and suffering. He does not then yield to an easy optimism, but invites one to put to good use every occasion and every gift received. Experience shows that not always does the deserving person receive the reward: it is not always that the fastest win the race, nor the strongest win in war, or the wisest those who live best, or the clever who become rich, nor the intelligent who gain recognition. We are all as if at the mercy of "time and chance." One does not know even his "hour," that is, the right time, nor does one know the "wrong time." There is nothing left but to seize the joy that life offers and to see in this a gift 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
