Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 7, 31-37
Returning from the territory of Tyre, he went by way of Sidon towards the Lake of Galilee, right through the Decapolis territory.
And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him.
He took him aside to be by themselves, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue with spittle.
Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened.'
And his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.
And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they proclaimed it.
Their admiration was unbounded, and they said, 'Everything he does is good, he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus continues to communicate the Gospel in pagan territory. And scenes similar to those that were seen in Galilee take place here, too. It is true: the Gospel can (and indeed must) be announced everywhere. We could say that all people, all cultures, and all men and women are waiting for it. The entire world is waiting for the Gospel, a word of salvation, an act of mercy. Even in pagan territory, as Jesus passes by, he creates a new atmosphere of festivity and hope that is felt especially by the sick and the poor, as was the case in Galilee. Some pagans who had learned of the young prophet’s reputation as a healer bring a deaf-mute man to Jesus. Jesus takes him aside, far from the crowd. The Gospel continues to underline that healing of whatever type, whether of body or heart, occurs in direct relationship with Jesus, not amidst the confusion of the world and even less through some kind of esoteric relationship. There needs to be a personal and direct relationship with Jesus: we need to look him in the eyes, to hear his words, even just one word. The centurion said to Jesus: "Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed." After having touched the deaf-mute man with his hands - as if to underline the concreteness of the relationship - and spoken a prayer to heaven, Jesus only says one word: "Be opened!" Immediately he is healed from being closed, and he begins to hear and speak. The crowd’s amazement is immediate and begins to spread. Jesus would rather they be silent. But how can people be mute when faced with the Gospel that saves? Certainly, we are often mute because we do not see and do not talk. Being turned in on ourselves blinds the eyes of faith. But if we open our ears to the Gospel and our eyes to the wonders that come from it, we, too, will cry out like the crowd: "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
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
