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
Ephesians 3, 1-13
It is because of this that I, Paul, a prisoner of the Lord Jesus on behalf of you gentiles. . .
You have surely heard the way in which God entrusted me with the grace he gave me for your sake;
he made known to me by a revelation the mystery I have just described briefly-
a reading of it will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.
This mystery, as it is now revealed in the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, was unknown to humanity in previous generations:
that the gentiles now have the same inheritance and form the same Body and enjoy the same promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
I have been made the servant of that gospel by a gift of grace from God who gave it to me by the workings of his power.
I, who am less than the least of all God's holy people, have been entrusted with this special grace, of proclaiming to the gentiles the unfathomable treasure of Christ
and of throwing light on the inner workings of the mystery kept hidden through all the ages in God, the Creator of everything.
The purpose of this was, that now, through the Church, the principalities and ruling forces should learn how many-sided God's wisdom is,
according to the plan which he had formed from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In him we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him;
so, I beg you, do not let the hardships I go through on your account make you waver; they are your glory.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
God’s great plan for humanity, the unity of all peoples and their access to the Father, is the scope of Paul’s mission: "I, Paul, am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you, Gentiles." The apostle Paul underlines the importance of the bond with Christ who has chosen him and sent him to the Gentiles, to all those who do not belong to the people of Israel. Paul feels that he is a "prisoner" of this mission in the sense that he lives it totally dependent on the Lord. Surely, he is an apostle as any other (Eph 2:20); however, more than others, he deserves the title of "apostle of the nations." Paul is aware of the magnitude of his mission, that of "becoming servant of his gospel." Nonetheless, this mission does not arouse his pride; he knows well from what kind of life he has been pulled away and for which mission he has been chosen. His past condition as a persecutor of the Church causes him to acknowledge, "For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor 15:9). He consider himself not only the least of the apostles but also the "very least" among the saints and all the Christians. Paul underlines his smallness in order to highlight the greatness of the vocation he has received, namely, to communicate the "boundless riches of Christ." This mystery that has been manifested to him is inaccessible to natural experiences. Only God can reveal it. And for Paul, it has been a sweeping spiritual experience, a light that has penetrated the depth of his heart and enabled him, in turn, to enlighten men and women (2 Cor 4:6). In Paul’s experience, we might see the charismatic dimension of the Church that continues to be present today in various ways. The "mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints" (Col 1:26.) is that Christ encapsulates all: he reconciles Jews and pagans, eliminates hate and gathers all men, women, and peoples into the only Church. We are all called to unite in Christ and become one "new humanity," one family made up of all peoples. The Church is the instrument through which Christ wants to bring reconciliation among all the peoples of the world. Its internal unity is the impetus that creates unity among all peoples. This is what Jesus himself prayed for: "That they may all be one... so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21). The task of the Church is to enlighten and free men and women from all oppressive force - be it cultural, political or religious - in order to reunite the entire family of peoples. The community of the faithful becomes the mediator of the new relationship that - through Jesus - God has established with all of humankind. This is an arduous and difficult task. For this reason, Paul invites us not to be discouraged. The tribulations that this task entails are the sign of a new birth, the generation of a new humanity.
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
