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
Romans 5, 1-11
So then, now that we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
it is through him, by faith, that we have been admitted into God's favour in which we are living, and look forward exultantly to God's glory.
Not only that; let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance,
and perseverance develops a tested character, something that gives us hope,
and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.
When we were still helpless, at the appointed time, Christ died for the godless.
You could hardly find anyone ready to die even for someone upright; though it is just possible that, for a really good person, someone might undertake to die.
So it is proof of God's own love for us, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
How much more can we be sure, therefore, that, now that we have been justified by his death, we shall be saved through him from the retribution of God.
For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more can we be sure that, being now reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
What is more, we are filled with exultant trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
At the beginning of the four central chapters of this letter (5-8), the apostle exhorts the community in Rome to take stock and rejoice in the salvation it received, and to consider that thanks to salvation we are called to live out the Gospel. This is the peace that the disciples received through Jesus Christ. This peace is centred on Jesus and his saving grace and not even trials and tribulations can tear us from it: this peace, in truth, represents the ultimate gift given to us from God. Paul expresses the mystery of peace that was given to us in this way: “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” This is one of the central claims in the New Testament. God turned his gaze upon us and poured his love into our hearts, not because he saw any particular merit for it in our lives. On the contrary, precisely because we were sinners and therefore in need of salvation, He, in his limitless mercy, sent his Son who gave his life for us and redeemed us from evil and death: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” And the apostle explains God’s incredible and unimaginable love for us: “7Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous personthough perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us.” This is why our hope is steadfast. Our hope is not based on ourselves, on our merits or our particular works, but on God’s totally free love that has been poured abundantly into our hearts. The only thing asked of us is to accept it, cherish it and practice it. Love will grow in us and around us. We could say that the first and fundamental work that we should do is to welcome God’s love into every aspect of our life, especially in the perseverance of our prayer. It is about work because it requires work, attention, commitment, effort, sacrifice and passion - as is needed for any task. But, we cannot do this alone: the Holy Spirit prays for us, the “Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words” (Rom 8:26).
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
