Memory of Athenagoras (1886-1972), patriarch of Constantinople and father of ecumenical dialogue. Read more
Memory of Athenagoras (1886-1972), patriarch of Constantinople and father of ecumenical dialogue.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Peter 1, 1-5
Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ, to all those living as aliens in the Dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen,
in the foresight of God the Father, to be made holy by the Spirit, obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you
who are being kept safe by God's power through faith until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the final point of time.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The letter begins with the name that the apostle had received from Jesus: Peter. To be a "rock" was an attribute generally reserved for God, but Jesus also bestows it to a poor and weak man such as Simon after he had made his profession of faith. And Peter, to whom Jesus gave the task of feeding his sheep, with a letter from Rome addresses the Christians of the scattered communities in the region of modern day Turkey to support them in faith as they were suffering from persecution. His letter expresses the universal love that characterizes Jesus’ disciples starting from the "first" apostle. The apostle calls them "chosen" by God and, perhaps for this reason, "exiles", that is, foreigners to this world. Especially in difficult moments Christians are called to rediscover the foundations of their faith. First the choice of God who calls us to be part of a people. Then our condition of being "foreigners" to this world, that is universal and not linked to one another because of blood ties, culture. As the letter to Diognetus reminds us: "They live in their homelands foreigners; they participate in everything like citizens and are detached from all like foreigners. Every nation is their home and every homeland is foreign to them." In the end we are "dispersed," that is, a people who find our unity even if dispersed because our unity is spiritual and mystic. This is why they had been called to be participants in the new community of believers born from the resurrection of Jesus, born anew "into a living hope through and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading". The apostle praises God for the great gift that He gave to the believers, which is the assurance of a hope that goes well beyond death and reaches the very fullness of God. Christian hope, Peter says, is not an empty or vain promise: it is a gift that has already begun, though it will be fulfilled in the future. It is the seed of the resurrection planted in the heart of the believers who, because of the resurrection, then become the first fruits of redemption, since now they hope also for those in despair, and take part in their tribulations so as to liberate the largest possible number of people from the slavery of sin. The apostle exhorts us to keep the final destination before our eyes, certain that the Lord guards us from the assaults of evil and guides us all the way to the full revelation of the Kingdom.
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
