Memory of St. Wenceslaus, venerated as a martyr in Bohemia. Memory of William Quijano, young Salvadorian man, killed by the violence of the maras. Read more
Memory of St. Wenceslaus, venerated as a martyr in Bohemia. Memory of William Quijano, young Salvadorian man, killed by the violence of the maras.
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
1 Chronicles 18, 1-17
After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. From the grip of the Philistines he wrested Gath and its dependencies.
He also defeated the Moabites; the Moabites became David's subjects and paid him tribute.
David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah, which lies in the direction of Hamath, when the latter mounted an expedition to assert his rule on the River Euphrates.
David captured one thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him; David hamstrung all the chariot teams, keeping only a hundred of them.
The Aramaeans of Damascus came to the help of Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand of the Aramaeans.
David then imposed governors in Aram of Damascus, and the Aramaeans became David's subjects and paid him tribute. Wherever David went, Yahweh gave him victory.
David took the golden shields carried by Hadadezer's guards and brought them to Jerusalem.
From Tibhath and from Cun, towns belonging to Hadadezer, David captured a great quantity of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea, the pillars and the bronze implements.
When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,
he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him on having made war on Hadadezer and on having defeated him, since Hadadezer was at war with Tou. He also sent all sorts of objects made of gold, silver and bronze,
which King David also consecrated to Yahweh, as well as the silver and gold which he had levied from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and Amalek.
Abishai son of Zeruiah defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt -- eighteen thousand of them.
He stationed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's subjects. Wherever David went, Yahweh gave him victory.
David ruled over all Israel, administering law and justice to all his people.
Joab son of Zeruiah was in command of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was herald;
Zadok son of Ahitub and Abiathar son of Ahimelech were priests; Shusha was secretary;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and Pelethites; David's sons took first place after the king.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This chapter, along with the nineteenth and the twentieth, tells of David’s victories over the enemies of Israel. The author begins with the defeat and the subsequent subjugation of the Philistines, the Moabites and Ammonites (vv. 1-8). The narrative is terse, but it shows the extraordinary power of the new king. The text, which echoes extensively what is written in the second book of Samuel, (ch.8-21) omits completely the punishments inflicted by David on the Moabites, because they do not favour to the glory of the king. The king of Chamat, seeing the unstoppable advance of David, prefers to send his own son, with precious objects, to offer as gifts to the king of Jerusalem (vv. 9-13). The text then mentions some brief notes on the organization of the kingdom (vv. 14-17). In the following two chapters, the military campaigns of David continue against the Ammonites and the Philistines. The Chronicler, at this point inserting a synthetic narrative of the victorious wars of David, seeks to show the readers that God protects his envoy giving him the opportunity to amass the wealth that will be used for the building of the temple. However, the author does not escape the cruelty of David, his ferocity in battling his enemies in the ensuing slaughter. It is true that he neglects to narrate many of the atrocities committed by the king, but cannot avoid noting the excessive familiarity with the war and the respective violence. It is for this reason that David is not granted the right to build the temple; the abode of God may be an artefact of the author of the chronicles to justify why David could not build the temple, given the victories and the wealth stored therein. But the reason that the author reports- and the twenty-second chapter explicitly - will be put into the mouth of David while he urges Solomon to build the temple: "But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood in my sight on the earth."" (1 Chr 22:8). It is a significant notation that helps to explain the complexity of the history of Israel and also to identify the seeds of peace, among all peoples of the land, which the Lord did not fail to sow throughout the history of his people and that will fully emerge with the Gospel message. A Midrash helps us to understand the message even better. Immediately after crossing the Red Sea, the Jews raised a song of praise to God. And when the angels of heaven ask him to join the chorus of the Jews, God replied: "How can I sing when thousands of my children died swallowed by the sea?" It is a reminder that we must accept with care and respect, that the name of God is always a name of peace.
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
