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
2 Timothy 4, 9-22
Make every effort to come and see me as soon as you can.
As it is, Demas has deserted me for love of this life and gone to Thessalonica, Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia;
only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you; I find him a useful helper in my work.
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and the scrolls, especially the parchment ones.
Alexander the coppersmith has done me a lot of harm; the Lord will repay him as his deeds deserve.
Be on your guard against him yourself, because he has been bitterly contesting everything that we say.
The first time I had to present my defence, no one came into court to support me. Every one of them deserted me -- may they not be held accountable for it.
But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed for all the gentiles to hear; and so I was saved from the lion's mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Greetings to Prisca and Aquila, and the family of Onesiphorus.
Erastus stayed behind at Corinth, and I left Trophimus ill at Miletus.
Make every effort to come before the winter. Greetings to you from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle has come to the conclusion of his instructions for his disciple. And at the end he writes, "Do your best to come to me soon." Paul thinks about him fondly and misses him. He remembers him especially in his prayers (1:3-4). He is afraid that if Timothy puts off his voyage he will no longer find Paul alive. He had just written, "All who are in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes" (1:15), and he explains, "At my first defence no one came to my support, but all deserted me" (4:16). Titus, who had returned to Rome from Crete, had left again for Dalmatia (2 Tim 4:10). Only Luke, his "beloved physician" (Col 4:14) and faithful companion, remained at his side. Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him to Rome; he then speaks to him about other co-workers, thereby showing him the need to have co-workers in the apostolic ministry. Paul is not an isolated hero. He knows how to create and guide an effective collaborative effort to lead the different communities. He then asks Timothy to bring him some things he left with an otherwise unknown Christian named Carpus at Troas during his last voyage. When Timothy comes to Rome he will pass by Troas before continuing on the Via Ignatia, and it will be easy for him to honour the request and bring the cloak. He also asks him to bring the "books," meaning papyrus scrolls and the "parchments" which probably contain Old Testament writings. Two sad experiences emerge from Paul’s memory. One is of a certain smith, Alexander, who did Paul harm by opposing his preaching, and the other the bitter disappointment he felt when everyone abandoned him during his first trial. The same thing had happened to Jesus. And Paul follows him in forgiveness: "May it not be counted against them!" Even in chains, the Gospel resounds in all its strength. Paul was once again freed from the "mouth of the lion" by the hand of God, but his death sentence was only put off. And he has no more hope for an acquittal. But God will free him and protect him "from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom." He had written to the Philippians, "I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (Phil 1:23). He then says farewell to his co-workers and asks Timothy a second time to hurry to come to visit him (4:9). And he invokes the "grace," the favour of God, the love that saves.
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
