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
Proverbs 3, 1-12
My child, do not forget my teaching, let your heart keep my principles,
since they will increase your length of days, your years of life and your well-being.
Let faithful love and constancy never leave you: tie them round your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Thus you will find favour and success in the sight of God and of people.
Trust wholeheartedly in Yahweh, put no faith in your own perception;
acknowledge him in every course you take, and he will see that your paths are smooth.
Do not congratulate yourself on your own wisdom, fear Yahweh and turn your back on evil:
health-giving, this, to your body, relief to your bones.
Honour Yahweh with what goods you have and with the first-fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with corn, your vats overflowing with new wine.
My child, do not scorn correction from Yahweh, do not resent his reproof;
for Yahweh reproves those he loves, as a father the child whom he loves.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Twice the Lord refers to us as children: at the beginning of this passage, he says: "My child," and at the end he concludes by saying, "the son in whom he delights." It is as if he is beseeching us, and at the same time, reminding us of whom we truly are. The passage insists upon the necessity of recognizing our dependence on God and therefore of entrusting ourselves to him: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight ... Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil." It is not an invitation to mistrust human intellect, but rather a warning to be aware of our condition. Often we believe ourselves to be wise; we behave arrogantly and are sure of ourselves, as if by ourselves we were entirely capable of deciding what is best for us. Rather, we cannot "forget God’s teaching" and forget to care for his word, so that our life may be peaceful and so that we may be able to make the right decisions. "Loyalty and faithfulness" should never abandon us. This passage invites us to "bind them round your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart," so that they may never be erased. But how many times do loyalty and faithfulness disappear when we listen only to ourselves and believe always to be right, imposing our will on others? The result of a good and faithful life is "favour and good repute," which is opposed to the idea that we have to do things ourselves and impose ourselves on others in order to be successful. At the end, the author reminds us of our duties before the Lord, from whom we have received so much: "Honour the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." We remember the Gospel saying: "For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away." Often we have nothing because we do not know how to give to God or to others. The gratuitousness of giving enriches our life; greed impoverishes it. Perhaps here the text refers to the first fruits of the harvest that had to be offered to the priest of the temple as recognition of the gifts received from the Lord. In front of God we are always indebted to Him and we cannot assume any pretence. Let us be disciplined by the Lord so that we can live in goodness and peace, enriching ourselves before Him and others.
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
