Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Philippians 2, 1-18
So if in Christ there is anything that will move you, any incentive in love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any warmth or sympathy -- I appeal to you,
make my joy complete by being of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind.
Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others,
everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others.
Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.
But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,
he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.
And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names;
so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So, my dear friends, you have always been obedient; your obedience must not be limited to times when I am present. Now that I am absent it must be more in evidence, so work out your salvation in fear and trembling.
It is God who, for his own generous purpose, gives you the intention and the powers to act.
Let your behaviour be free of murmuring and complaining
so that you remain faultless and pure, unspoilt children of God surrounded by a deceitful and underhand brood, shining out among them like bright stars in the world,
proffering to it the Word of life. Then I shall have reason to be proud on the Day of Christ, for it will not be for nothing that I have run the race and toiled so hard.
Indeed, even if my blood has to be poured as a libation over your sacrifice and the offering of your faith, then I shall be glad and join in your rejoicing-
and in the same way, you must be glad and join in my rejoicing.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul exhorts the Christians of Philippi to live in love. But, this is only possible if we are animated by humility, and not by vainglory, only if we seek the interests of others over our own. The apostle touches here on one of the central aspects of his request of the Philippians: unity and holiness are only attainable if everyone turns their gaze toward Jesus and receive within themselves “the same mind of Jesus.” Christians model their hearts on Jesus’ feelings and their minds on Jesus’ thoughts. The disciple imitates the Teacher fully: he follows him, he listens to him and remains with him always. Jesus’ life, we know, is characterized by kenosis, by self-emptying: he, who was God, humbled himself, becoming a slave, accepting even death on a cross, just to remain faithful to his choice of love, his choice to save the world. His emptying of himself to the point of being a slave was not a choice of false humility, but the result of a love that knew no limits. Out of such a love God exalted Jesus, saving him from the clutches of death. And in the name of Jesus all are able to find salvation. Paul calls upon the Christians of Philippi to continue to live in obedience to the Gospel because by doing so they have yielded many fruits. He asks them to avoid murmuring, so that they may be “children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” The community must shine “like stars in the world” by holding fast to the word of life. Paul knows well that the Christian community, even if it is facing tribulations, can resist because it relies on the Gospel. If Christians continue to live the Gospel, making it the foundation of their life, the apostle says that he is certain that he did not run in vain. He says the same of himself, because he sought to follow the Lord. He invites us to obey the Gospel daily in order to be free from the slavery of egocentrism. The disciple, and every Christian community, is called to fix his attention on the word that the Lord sends every day. We should listen to it, welcome it, cherish it in our hearts and communicate everywhere. This is the joy that the apostle himself lives out and that he wants to communicate the Christians of Philippi, and to us, disciples of the last hour.
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
