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
Matthew 9, 14-15
Then John's disciples came to him and said, 'Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?'
Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
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
As we take our first steps on the Lenten path, the word of God reminds us that the true path goes through the heart, the path of changing one’s own soul. It is not a question of simply performing a few external practices and thinking that’s enough. In the passage from the prophet Isaiah (58:1-9) read as the first reading of today’s Mass, there is a violent denunciation of the kind of religious formalism made up of practices and rites but devoid of the mercy of the heart. The Lord says: "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn." The fasting that the Lord wants is a fasting from selfishness so that we may turn towards Him and towards love for the poor. The Gospel of Matthew that we just heard speaks to us about fasting and explains its deeper meaning. The disciples of John, who led a more severe life than the followers of Jesus, ask for the meaning behind their happiness. In effect, the very presence of Jesus among the people created a festive, hope-filled atmosphere - that is, a profound sense of cheerfulness. The disciples really were happy to be with him and share his life. Following Jesus is not a sad life based on sacrifice and penance. It is the exact opposite. John’s disciples noticed this and were scandalized by it. But Jesus explains that being with him is like the celebration that occurs during a wedding when the bridegroom arrives. The One who frees people from all slavery and sadness had come to be among the weak and the poor. But Jesus warns that the coming of the Kingdom also requires a struggle against evil, and that, as in every battle, there will be no lack of difficult moments. There will be those who will oppose and try anything to find a way to condemn and defeat the disciples who proclaim the Gospel. But the first thing to do is to put on festive clothes and drink the wine of mercy because that will make us strong even in times of difficulty.
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
