Memory of Saint Joseph, Mary's husband, who in humility "took the child with him."
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Memory of Saint Joseph, Mary’s husband, who in humility "took the child with him."
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 10,15-20
A fool finds hard work very tiring, he cannot even find his own way into town.
Woe to you, country with a lad for king, and where princes start feasting in the morning!
Happy the land whose king is nobly born, where princes eat at a respectable hour to keep themselves strong and not merely to revel!
Thanks to idleness, the roof-tree gives way, thanks to carelessness, the house lets in the rain.
We give parties to enjoy ourselves, wine makes us cheerful and money has an answer for everything.
Do not abuse the king, even in thought, do not abuse a rich man, even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air might carry the news, a winged messenger might repeat what you have said.
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 criticizes the stupidity of those responsible for the economy and politics of the country. He first of all says that the stupid (he may be referring to an egocentric and silly aristocrat), even though he busies himself, does not succeed in "going to the city," i.e., governing. But Qohelet denounces with a "woe" the political class that behaves like an incapable and arrogant child. He here recalls Isaiah’s verse: "I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over you" (3:4). While exclaiming: "Happy are you, O land, when your king is a nobleman" (v. 17). A "nobleman," if he is not stupid, is the best candidate to govern the land. But all should be attentive and vigilant since the "house" (the State) can go to ruin through the negligence and corruption of the one who governs. Here the author denounces the squandering of money for their diversion: "feasts are made for laughter" (v. 19). Also, he also condemns the bad habit, always widespread among bureaucrats, of speaking badly of their king (v. 20). Qohelet warns that it is conduct at least imprudent: there is always one who can report the words said (the repeats the topic of the bird who chatters, well-known in the literature of the time). The author wants to invite those who should manage public affairs to seek wisdom in political life, rejecting all incompetence and corruption. Qohelet, however, trusts that a governing class that works harder and is less corrupt can make a country happy, freeing it from the vulgarity, ineptitude and laziness of corrupt rulers.
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
