Memory of St. Sergii Radonezhsky of the Russian church. He founded the Lavra (monastery) of the Most Holy Trinity near Moscow. Memory of the evangelical pastor Paul Schneider who died in the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald on July 18, 1939. Read more
Memory of St. Sergii Radonezhsky of the Russian church. He founded the Lavra (monastery) of the Most Holy Trinity near Moscow. Memory of the evangelical pastor Paul Schneider who died in the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald on July 18, 1939.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Peter 3, 13-17
No one can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right;
and blessed are you if you have to suffer for being upright. Have no dread of them; have no fear.
Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have.
But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their accusations.
And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
"Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?" These words are addressed to the Christians who are suffering heavy hostility. But they will not be harmed because the Lord himself will defend them. This is why the apostle adds that also in a time of persecution Christians are blessed, as also Jesus had said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake" (Mt 5:10). The beatitude of Christians consists in being with Jesus and witnessing his love. This is what the apostle means by: "make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you" (v.15). Yes, Christians are called to not only render their faith comprehensible, but also to make it appealing to the people of their time. To give "an accounting" does not simply mean to be apologetic or defensive. It means much more than that. The disciples are encouraged to call others to faith and to find ways to touch their mind and heart. It is a task that concerns the entire Christian community and every individual disciple, and requires attention and care both regarding the content of faith and the people to whom we speak. This is why it cannot be performed in a superficial, improvised and arrogant manner. Rather, the apostle exhorts us to do it "with gentleness and reverence" and a clear conscience. The apostle seems to conclude that: "it is better to suffer for doing good... than to suffer for doing evil." Faith is not a club that one uses to bludgeon whoever listens, but is a call that should touch the heart so that whoever listens may understand the sadness of life led so far and may convert the heart to God. It is what Peter had done with his first sermon on the day of Pentecost. The Acts of the Apostles reads that the people "were cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37). It is not about giving up our identity and faith, but rather to communicate it with patience and love and always with clarity. This may cause suffering. We see it mainly in the countries where Christians are a persecuted minority or at least are opposed in their living their faith. And yet Peter says that "It is better to suffer for doing good ... than to suffer for doing evil."
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
