Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Revelation 1,12-20
I turned round to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands
and, in the middle of them, one like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a belt of gold.
His head and his hair were white with the whiteness of wool, like snow, his eyes like a burning flame,
his feet like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean.
In his right hand he was holding seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp sword, double-edged, and his face was like the sun shining with all its force.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me and said, 'Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One,
I was dead and look -- I am alive for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
Now write down all that you see of present happenings and what is still to come.
The secret of the seven stars you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lamp-stands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp-stands are the seven churches themselves.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John hears the voice and turns around. The Gospel always makes people turn around if they listen to it. It is what happened to Moses when he turned around to listen to the word of God that came from the burning bush; it is what happened to Joseph when he listened to the angel, even though he was wracked with doubt and "took the child and his mother;" it is what happened to the wise men when, after being warned, they "left for their own country by another road." It is the story of every calling: those who listen lift their attention from themselves and turn towards the voice that is speaking. John turns "to see whose voice it was that spoke to me." In his first letter he writes: "No one has even seen God" (4:12), but Jesus has revealed him to us (cf. John 1:18). And now the apostle is "painting" a great icon of Christ, "one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe." He already presented him in his Gospel dressed in a seamless tunic, "woven in one piece from the top" (19:23), just before being crucified. The soldiers who divided up his clothing did not divide the tunic, a sign of the Body of Christ and symbol of the unity of the community of believers. Jesus is not alone, he stands among seven lamp stands, the seven Churches, and he holds them in one communion. His hair is as white as snow, a sign of eternity; his eyes that shine like fire evoke the depths of his loving gaze; his bronze feet denote firmness and stability; his voice is as strong as the roaring of the ocean. All the Churches shine with his light and live from his word. His right hand holds seven stars which - as will be explained later (v. 20) - represent the guardian angels that keep watch over the Churches, or, more simply, the "bishops" who lead the Christian communities. The tongue that comes out of the mouth of Christ is like a sharp sword; his word is not a puff of air; it is strong and powerful; it defeats sin and loneliness and creates communion between those who listen to it and let it touch their hearts. The face of Christ shines like the sun. It is like a repetition of the Transfiguration. Now, as then, the disciple falls down as though dead. And once again, the Lord touches him with his right hand, although now he is also holding the seven stars, and repeats the same words as before: "Do not be afraid!" He then entrusts him with the task of communicating this extraordinary vision, which for us is made real in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
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
