Memory of Saint Polycarp, disciple of the apostle John, bishop and martyr (+155). Read more
Memory of Saint Polycarp, disciple of the apostle John, bishop and martyr (+155).
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 9, 38-40
John said to him, 'Master, we saw someone who is not one of us driving out devils in your name, and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.'
But Jesus said, 'You must not stop him; no one who works a miracle in my name could soon afterwards speak evil of me.
Anyone who is not against us is for us.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In reporting the episode of the healer "outside" of the group, Mark places himself within a tradition that is unique in his genre. Jesus clearly appears to be a teacher who is absolutely open and ready to welcome good from wherever it comes; not only does he not close himself off within his group, but he demands that his disciples not follow a sectarian spirit. Whoever does good is accepted by God, because God is at the origin of every good and just thing. The words that he speaks to the disciples, "whoever is not against us is for us," are a source of wisdom and a great help for each disciple to open his or her heart to others just as he or she opened it to the Lord. This Gospel passage seems particularly relevant in our contemporary world, in which we witness the resurgence of ethnic walls and barriers that set one group against others. The Gospel helps us understand and recognize what is good and beautiful in the world and in the hearts of men and women. And the disciples need to appreciate this. Whoever acts with charity is welcomed by the Lord, as is also affirmed in the Gospel passage of Matthew 25, which talks about the universal judgment. Jesus makes a connection between salvation and the act of offering just one glass of water to someone who is thirsty. This means that charity is the path to salvation for all, even for those who do not believe. The apostle Paul takes the same position when he writes: "What does it matter? That Christ is proclaimed in every way...and in that I rejoice" (Phil 1:18). This openness and this willingness absolutely do not mean that we are selling Christianity short or supporting an attitude of indifference. The Word of God makes demands of everyone and asks everyone for conversion, but it is also deeply understanding of the good that can grow from every man and woman.
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
