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 22, 1-16
Fame is preferable to great wealth, favour, to silver and gold.
Rich and poor rub shoulders, Yahweh has made them both.
The discreet sees danger and takes shelter, simpletons go ahead and pay the penalty.
The reward of humility is the fear of Yahweh, and riches, honour and life.
Thorns and snares line the path of the wilful, whoever values life will stay at a distance.
Give a lad a training suitable to his character and, even when old, he will not go back on it.
The rich lords it over the poor, the borrower is the lender's slave.
Whoever sows injustice reaps disaster, and the rod of such anger will disappear.
A kindly eye will earn a blessing, such a person shares out food with the poor.
Expel the mocker and strife goes too, law-suits and dislike die down.
Whoever loves the pure of heart and is gracious of speech has the king for a friend.
Yahweh's eyes protect knowledge, but he confounds deceitful speeches.
'There is a lion outside,' says the idler, 'I shall be killed in the street!'
The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit, into it falls the man whom Yahweh rebukes.
Folly is anchored in the heart of a youth, the whip of instruction will rid him of it.
Harsh treatment enriches the poor, but a gift impoverishes the rich.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favour is better than silver or gold." The author begins the chapter with these words. The translation is a bit misleading because it seems to focus overly on people’s judgment and attitudes regarding others. In reality, the Hebrew text emphasizes that it’s the quality of the person as a subject that has an effect: a good name or a name that is chosen reflects a way of life. In the Bible, a name expresses the reality of a person and therefore everyone must express the best part of him or herself. Therefore, as it says in the second part of the verse, the name must show "favour." The actual name must be benevolent and kind and this is worth more than riches. Verse 11 explains that even benevolence expresses itself through speech. Conversely, in today’s world, we do not always speak in benevolent and kind terms but rather in cold, mean and arrogant ones. The words that are said today are at times hard and lack that kind of courtesy that would make others happy and render the world a better place. Humility is connected to this attitude and it creates honour and riches, "The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honour and life." The question "What enriches?" seems to be at the heart of this part of Proverbs. Riches do not. Moreover, the rich oppress the poor even if before the Lord they are both his creatures . Clearly, enriching oneself to the detriment of the poor is unjust, "He who oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to want." This is a clear condemnation of a society in which the rich enrich themselves at the expense of the poor, even to the extent of dominating them. Moreover, it is also an indictment against enriching the rich, for that only leads to impoverishing oneself. The blessing of the Lord will be on those who are able to give of what they own to the poor. "He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor" (v. 9). Generosity is a character trait of the believer and the wise who are not afraid of giving of themselves and therefore do not selfishly accumulate riches. We need to be rich before God in order to be saved, as Jesus says at the end of the parable of the rich fool who hoarded selfishly his wealth. "Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:20-21).
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
