Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 9, 32-38
They had only just left when suddenly a man was brought to him, a dumb demoniac.
And when the devil was driven out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed and said, 'Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.'
But the Pharisees said, 'It is through the prince of devils that he drives out devils.'
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness.
And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Here is another miracle, like the many we read about in the Gospels. Miracles require a brief introduction before they can be understood properly. They not only manifest divine power; they are a sign that life can change, that is possible to be healed, and that it is possible to have a different heart. This is why it is said in the Gospels that Jesus preached and healed. It is the same assignment given to the disciples of that time and at all times, including the present. The Church is sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel and to heal men and women who suffer from all kinds of illness. We need to turn back and question ourselves about the assignment that the Jesus has given us today concerning the "power" (the effective force) to "touch the heart" by preaching the Gospel and to perform miracles of healing. We all know too well how numerous the "wicked and perverse spirits" that control the hearts and minds of many are today. The Gospel presents us with "a demoniac who was mute," a sick man who was no longer able to speak. Jesus gives him back his voice. He truly is the compassionate one, the only one who knows how to be moved by the weak people of this world, and the one who puts other people’s problems ahead of his own. Today, our cities are full of men and women who are mute because they do not know how to speak; they don’t have anyone to whom they can ask questions, reveal their anguish, and express their rights. It is enough to think of the many elderly people who live more and more alone as they advance through the years. We are also mute and deaf when we don’t have anyone to ask us questions, any one to give us back our voices, as Jesus did for that man. Yes, we need to listen to the Gospel to learn how to speak again. Too often, we become mute because we are full of empty words. Everyone who has let his or her heart be touched by the Gospel has learned how to speak again, how to pray, how to exhort, how to forgive, and even how to correct. And we can express our amazement along with the crowd that surrounded Jesus: "Never has anything like this been seen!" There is certainly no lack of opponents, such as the Pharisees of today who try to discredit the Gospel, its believers, and their works of mercy. But Jesus continues his mission, and we are invited to travel through the streets and squares of our cities together with him. With his compassion in our hearts, we will be able to perform "miracles" of mercy. Jesus’ compassion opens our eyes and allows us to see, especially the poor and the weak, and to bend down beside them. Unfortunately, there are few - too few - who compassionately approach the crowds of this world, which are "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." And Jesus continues to say: "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few!" We need to pray and ask the Father to send labourers of mercy. We will discover that the Lord is inviting us to become labourers for all those who are prey to violence, loneliness, sadness, war, and poverty.
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
