Memory of Zechariah and of Elizabeth, who in her old age conceived John the Baptist. Read more
Memory of Zechariah and of Elizabeth, who in her old age conceived John the Baptist.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 16, 9-15
'And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great.
If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?
And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?
'No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.'
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and jeered at him.
He said to them, 'You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as upright in people's sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed in human eyes is loathsome in the sight of God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel passage exhorts the disciple to not let him- or herself be used by riches, to not be their slave and so use them only for his or her own interest. Riches are given to us by God so that, beyond ourselves, they be of use also to others, especially the poorest, those who need help. The poor are our true friends and to them first of all must our merciful attention be paid. Therefore Jesus exhorts us to give alms, to take care of the one who is weak and needy. Acting thus we certainly help them and at the same time place our riches in safe hands. The poor whom we have helped - so repeats the ancient patristic tradition - will be there to welcome us at the heavenly gates and to accompany us "into the eternal mansions." With these words it is confirmed once again that the royal road for entry into the kingdom of heaven is love for the poor. It is a question not simply of giving them alms - something which already should be esteemed greatly - but of being their friend. To bend down to them takes us away from a Pharisaic religiosity which is basically egocentric, and moreover liberates us from slavery to riches, which often are the source of violence and conflict. Love for the poor makes us free to serve the Lord and his Gospel. Jesus’ words have a crystalline clarity: one cannot serve God and money at the same time. One is in fact a slave of one or the other. And, unfortunately, today’s culture thrusts us towards that which we have many times called the slavery of materialism: that is, to idealize wealth. And how many times have affections and even one’s own life been sacrificed upon the altar of wealth! Christian history does not cease to put before our eyes exemplary witnesses of the freedom that is gained by abandoning riches and letting oneself be drawn by love. Just one example: Francis of Assisi renounced even his clothes in order to turn himself completely to the Gospel. He is even today an extraordinary witness to love.
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
