Memory of Zacchaeus who climbed a tree to see the Lord and received as a gift the conversion of his heart. Read more
Memory of Zacchaeus who climbed a tree to see the Lord and received as a gift the conversion of his heart.
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 John 1, 7-13
There are many deceivers at large in the world, refusing to acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in human nature. They are the Deceiver; they are the Antichrist.
Watch yourselves, or all our work will be lost and you will forfeit your full reward.
If anybody does not remain in the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he does not have God with him: only those who remain in what he taught can have the Father and the Son with them.
If anyone comes to you bringing a different doctrine, you must not receive him into your house or even give him a greeting.
Whoever greets him has a share in his wicked activities.
There are several things I have to tell you, but I have thought it best not to trust them to paper and ink. I hope instead to visit you and talk to you in person, so that our joy may be complete.
Greetings to you from the children of your sister, the chosen one.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In the first lines of the letter, the author reminds the Christians of the primacy of loving one another, and he seems to emphasize the importance of a life of love also as a way of not succumbing to the lies of the false teachers. It is also notable that the "presbyter" suggests the importance of loving one another as a means of not falling into an error of faith. In effect, there is a bond between living in love and abiding in truth, a connection that we find both in the Gospels and the New Testament writings. We need not look any further for examples than John in his first letter, who exhorts, "let us love in truth and action" (1 Jn 3:18) and the apostle Paul, who writes to the Corinthians, "love rejoices in the truth" (1 Cor 13:6). There is an initial, simple consideration to take into account regarding the unity of the life of the community that embraces the communion of love and the communion of faith: we cannot separate the two camps, as if we were able to live in communion without an understanding of faith and vice versa. Among the clearest examples that we have is the episode of Peter’s profession of faith in Caesarea, a profession that was right, but his refusal to understand Jesus’ passion distanced him from his Teacher. The author of the letter puts us on guard against those who "do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh." Here, we reach the heart of Christian faith: Jesus not only "came," but he "comes" in the flesh. That is, he continues to be present in his Church, in the community of disciples, as he himself said, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Mt 18:20). The community itself becomes the "flesh" of Jesus present throughout history, although we cannot make any exception in this mystery. This explains the harshness that we read in verses 10 to 11 against those who want to negate this concrete, historical connection made of "flesh" between Jesus and his disciples. It is in this relationship that they find the fullness of joy. A personal relationship with Jesus reverberates in the intimacy, that is, talking face to face, that the children of God should live with each other.
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
