Memory of Saint Leo the Great, bishop of Rome, who led the Church through difficult times. Read more
Memory of Saint Leo the Great, bishop of Rome, who led the Church through difficult times.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 17, 20-25
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, he gave them this answer, 'The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation
and there will be no one to say, "Look, it is here! Look, it is there!" For look, the kingdom of God is among you.'
He said to the disciples, 'A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of man and will not see it.
They will say to you, "Look, it is there!" or, "Look, it is here!" Make no move; do not set off in pursuit;
for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of man when his Day comes.
But first he is destined to suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God will come. The disciples too had asked a similar question. Everyone in Israel awaited the liberator Messiah. In the time of Jesus this expectation was even more alive, as is shown by the disciples’ insistence in the Gospels. All expected a kingdom similar to that of the earth’s powerful kingdoms. And they had not become aware that the kingdom was already in their midst with that young prophet. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God on the earth, but not in such a way as to "draw attention," in other words, not in an imposing and spectacular manner. No one in fact could say "here it is" or "there it is," because it is of a spiritual nature, interior. Not because it is abstract or ethereal, but because it begins with a change of heart. Jesus himself was the "new time" of salvation: with his healing and with his preaching he fought against evil which was therefore increasingly losing ground until its definitive defeat by his death and resurrection. This is why Jesus can say that the kingdom of God "is in your midst," that is, among those who hear and put into practice his word. Participating in the kingdom involves suffering and pain, too, as happened to Jesus himself. In those days - and here Jesus addresses the disciples directly, and no longer the Pharisees - when the trial becomes hard the disciples will want to see "even just one day of the Son of Man," that is, have a little consolation. But there will be none. They should not let themselves be sidetracked however from following the Master in order to follow their own desires or the false idols that from time to time appear on the scene. Jesus warns the disciples to not seek the Messiah "there" or "here." He remains the one Lord and it is him they should follow. The Gospel appears as "lightning" which "flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other"; his proclamation in fact dispels the darkness of the world and unveils Jesus’ face. Blessed are we who let ourselves be dazzled by this saving word and not by other empty chatter.
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
