Memory of St. Augustine of Canterbury (605 ca.), bishop, father of the English church. Read more
Memory of St. Augustine of Canterbury (605 ca.), bishop, father of the English church.
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
Hebrews 1, 1-4
At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but
in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the ages.
He is the reflection of God's glory and bears the impress of God's own being, sustaining all things by his powerful command; and now that he has purged sins away, he has taken his seat at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high.
So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The author knows that the substance of the Christian faith is contained in God’s decision to enter into dialogue with humankind. The Sacred Scripture is none other than the history of the revelation of God to humanity. In fact, with it, the dialogue of God with men and women continues still today. The Letter to the Hebrews itself is a continuation of this dialogue. The text is presented as a homiletic exhortation addressed to Christians of either the first or second Christian generation, to call them not to keep listening and yet, because the Lord continues to speak today, this Letter is also addressed to us. The author laments a kind of laziness in listening on the part of Christians, so much so that they become “dull in understanding” (5:11). There is a clear invitation to rediscover the centrality of the Word of God in their own lives. Also, for Israel, listening to God was central, and their history began when God decided to speak to the ancient fathers of Israel, as the author notes: “God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.” Indeed, never has God withheld his Word from the people of Israel, both in joyful and painful occasions. And if there have been difficult and heavy moments in the history of the chosen people, these arose when they became deaf to the words of God and instead listened to others’ words. However, the Lord, who wants to use Israel to save all peoples of the earth, “in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” The Son of God made into flesh is the culmination of revelation. The Father, in fact, impelled by a limitless love for men and women, has sent the Word who “in the beginning, was with God.” This Word was turned towards God, that is, was living in God; it was bound to Him in a total way. Now that Word has been turned also to us. It is the mystery that we are being asked to welcome: God himself speaks directly to us, without intermediaries. No longer does he speak through the voice of prophets, but through his very own Son. The Letter opens with a song to the strength and power of the Son: “He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” The Word, who has been in existence since the origin of creation, has become flesh, has come to dwell among us so that we all may be able to enter into direct dialogue with God, without other mediators; the Word now is seated “at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” This is the richness of the Christian mystery, a mystery of boundless love which binds the children directly to the Father through this revealed Word.
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
