Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 8,4-8
Once they had scattered, they went from place to place preaching the good news.
And Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them.
The people unanimously welcomed the message Philip preached, because they had heard of the miracles he worked and because they saw them for themselves.
For unclean spirits came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured.
As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
After Stephen was killed, the first hostilities broke out against the Christians in Jerusalem. Many Christians had to flee to Samaria in the north. It was a dramatic time in the life of the first community, but at the same time it encouraged expansion into other areas. One could say that the Word of God began to travel the roads of the world even because of persecution. The Lord is truly guiding history and knows how to create good even from evil. Philip, one of the seven deacons, preached the Gospel and his preaching was very effective. Just as the Lord had promised to the disciples, his words were full of miraculous signs: he healed the sick, drove evil spirits out from people’s hearts, consoled those who were afflicted, reconciled those who hated, and brought peace to many who were torn apart by conflicts. Many people came to listen to him. And Philip continued to create the same ambiance of hope and festivity among the people that Jesus had created: preaching the Gospel always creates a new ambiance and a festive atmosphere. Joy is part of the atmosphere of the first Christian community. Luke says explicitly here, too, that "there was great joy in that city." This testimony should question our Christian communities and encourage them to rediscover, live, and demonstrate this dimension of joy that is so central to the witness of the apostolic Church. Christian joy is not a superficial optimism that may hide the complexity and sometimes tragedy of our present time. It springs from the power of the gospel word that in face of the strength of evil continues to work miracles of love and peace.
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
