Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Peter 1, 12-15
That is why I will always go on recalling the same truths to you, even though you already know them and are firmly fixed in these truths.
I am sure it is my duty, as long as I am in this tent, to keep stirring you up with reminders,
since I know the time for me to lay aside this tent is coming soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
And I shall take great care that after my own departure you will still have a means to recall these things to mind.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle Peter exercises his pastoral duty by reminding all of us of the Gospel truth. We could say that he shows us the itinerary of preaching that every Christian generation must continue to live. The communication of the Gospel consists of recalling Jesus’ words and re-proposing them, generation after generation, so that they may touch the heart of those who listen and bring about a change in their life. The Gospel, Paul reminds us, is the "power of God" (Rom 1:16). The power of the Lord is present and acts in the Gospel. Hence, to accept the Gospel does not mean simply to recall to memory past events of long ago, but to accept the power of salvation contained in those words: whoever listens to them is compelled to change his or her heart and to work for the transformation of the life of the world. The pastor, as well as every believer, should feel the responsibility of "refreshing the memory" of the brothers and sisters of faith through preaching the Gospel. Peter feels it with all the more urgency as he sees the end of his days approaching. Probably the death threats were more evident and he did not want to deprive the Christians of the testimony that had so radically changed his existence, transforming him from a fisherman in Galilee to a witness of the very mystery of God. In truth, the time that we have to communicate the Gospel is short. That is to say, we can no longer delay in communicating it because it is the only word that can save us and the world from the barbarism in which we continue to fall. Peter reminds us with these words to intensify the communication of the Gospel by witnessing to its truth with deeds and words. The Gospel is communicated from heart to heart, from generation to generation, and each Christian has the responsibility of this fundamental task. It is not only a responsibility towards others but also towards the community in which we live our faith because without the communication of the Gospel, without mission, each community risks drying up and dying.
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
