Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Proverbs 28, 1-28
The wicked flees when no one is pursuing, the upright is bold as a lion.
A country in revolt throws up many leaders: with one person wise and experienced, you have stability.
The wicked oppresses the weak: here is a devastating rain -- and farewell, bread!
Those who forsake the law sing the praises of the wicked, those who observe the law are angered by them.
The wicked do not know what justice means, those who seek Yahweh understand everything.
Better someone poor living an honest life than someone of devious ways however rich.
An intelligent child is one who keeps the Law; an associate of profligates brings shame on his father.
Whoever increases wealth by usury and interest amasses it for someone else who will bestow it on the poor.
Whoever refuses to listen to the Law, such a one's very prayer is an abomination.
Whoever seduces the honest to evil ways will fall into his own pit. The blameless are the heirs to happiness.
The rich may think himself wise, but the intelligent poor will unmask him.
When the upright triumph, there is great exultation: when the wicked are in the ascendant, people take cover.
No one who conceals his sins will prosper, whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
Blessed the person who is never without fear, whoever hardens his heart will fall into distress.
Like a roaring lion or a springing bear is a wicked ruler of a powerless people.
An unenlightened ruler is rich in rapacity, one who hates greed will lengthen his days.
A man guilty of murder will flee till he reaches his tomb: let no one halt him!
Whoever lives an honest life will be safe, whoever wavers between two ways falls down in one of them.
Whoever works his land shall have bread and to spare, but no one who chases fantasies has any sense.
A trustworthy person will be overwhelmed with blessings, but no one who tries to get rich quickly will go unpunished.
It is not good to show partiality, but people will do wrong for a mouthful of bread.
The person of greedy eye chases after wealth, not knowing that want will be the result.
Anyone who reproves another will enjoy more favour in the end than the flatterer.
Whoever robs father and mother saying, 'Nothing wrong in that!' is comrade for a brigand.
The covetous provokes disputes, whoever trusts in Yahweh will prosper.
Whoever trusts his own wit is a fool, anyone whose ways are wise will be safe.
No one who gives to the poor will ever go short, but whoever closes his eyes will have curses in plenty.
When the wicked are in the ascendant, people take cover, but when they perish, the upright multiply.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The wicked and the just correspond to two very different ways of approaching life that have nothing to do with each other. Juxtaposition is found not only in Proverbs and in the Books of Wisdom but throughout the Bible. The Word of God helps to create a boundary, not so much as to condemn whoever commits wicked deedsbecause God wants even the wicked to convert and live, as the prophet Ezekiel says in Chapter 18but to help humanity in making a choice. In a world accustomed to considering everything at the same level, which is not helpful in making choices, the believer knows that living without making decisions is impossible. Today’s passage begins and ends with two meaningful considerations: "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" and "When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding, but when they perish, the righteous increase." Flight expresses fear, a sense of insecurity and uncertainty in the face of the other that is identified maybe as an enemy to be avoided; the just, to the contrary, manifest security because they trust in God. Indeed, if the wicked prevailthis is the fear of all the righteous people will "go into hiding" (v. 12) because the power of the wicked overwhelms every thing. The verses that speak of a wicked ruler express this condition well: "Happy is the one who is never without fear, but one who is hard-hearted will fall into calamity" (v. 14). We are aware today of the extent to which evil can provoke greed in the ruler over a poor people. Two characteristics that lead men and women to commit evil are stinginess and greed (v. 22, 25). In any case, upright conduct concerns everyone: poor and wealthy. No one is justified by his or her social or economic standing if she or he commits evil. Even if the Bible defends the poor and the Lord is their primary defendant, they too must live according to the Word of God. This applies even today when the poor oppress and despise other poor people, or when the well-off forget their poor beginnings. As we can see, the Word of God saves no one from admonishment or correction, and so we entrust ourselves to it in order to choose a just way of life.
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
