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
John 10, 11-18
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep;
he runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.
And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and I must lead these too. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, one shepherd.
The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In this Gospel passage, Jesus refers to himself as the "good pastor" who gathers the scattered sheep and guides them along God’s path. The image may seem ancient, but the dispersion of men and women in the world in which we live is extremely current. Individualism, nestled in the heart of every person, today seems even stronger than yesterday: society has become all the more competitive, aggressive, and cruel. The push toward disaggregation seems much stronger than the one toward solidarity: individuals, as well as peoples, pursue their interests over everyone and everything. Distances and conflicts grow more numerous. The dream for equality is even considered dangerous. And even the fact of not having to depend on anyone or to be influenced or conditioned by anyone else is exalted as a value. In this climate, "thieves" and "bandits" - the ones who steal life from others for their personal gain - increase and multiply. Even human life also becomes a commodity to sell or steal. The dictatorship of the market spares no one. And the weakest are the most penalized and violated. There is a need for a "good pastor" who knows his sheep and saves them, one by one, leading them to safe pastures and taking care that all can sufficiently nourish themselves. Too many people, however, are the "thieves" and "bandits" who continue to steal life. And unfortunately, all run the risk of becoming their accomplices. Each time we close ourselves in our egocentrism, not only are we prey to them, but we also become accomplices to their stealing. Saint Ambrose noted with good reason: "How many masters end up having those who refuse the one Lord!" Jesus, the good pastor, gathers us from our dispersion and guides us toward a common destiny; and, if needed, he goes to personally take whoever is lost and lead them back to the fold. In order to do this, he does not fear passing through death, if necessary; he is certain that the Father gives life back to whoever spends it generously for others. This is the miracle of Easter. The risen Jesus is the gate that opens so that we may enter into eternal life. Jesus does not rob us of our life; on the contrary, he gives it to us abundantly, multiplied for eternity.
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
