Memory of St. Ireneus, bishop of Lyon and martyr (130-202); he went to France from Anatolia to preach the Gospel. Read more
Memory of St. Ireneus, bishop of Lyon and martyr (130-202); he went to France from Anatolia to preach the Gospel.
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 13, 18-24
Pray for us; we are sure that our own conscience is clear and we are certainly determined to behave honourably in everything we do.
I ask you very particularly to pray that I may come back to you all the sooner.
I pray that the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood that sealed an eternal covenant,
may prepare you to do his will in every kind of good action; effecting in us all whatever is acceptable to himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I urge you, brothers, to take these words of encouragement kindly; that is why I have written to you briefly.
I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he arrives in time, he will be with me when I see you.
Greetings to all your leaders and to all God's holy people. God's holy people in Italy send you greetings.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In these concluding verses of the Letter, the author comes out, at least a little, from his anonymity, even if the indications given are not sufficient to illuminate the reasons and the circumstances which gave rise to this writing. It is unique, however, that the first request is prayer: “Pray for us.” Perhaps he is in a difficult situation maybe he is opposed in his faith or he feels his responsibility for the community and is asking for help, first of all through prayer. Moreover he desires to see shortly the recipients of the Letter; hence they ought to help him with their prayers. In any case, it appears clear that communion in prayer is the cornerstone of the life of Christian communities. Several times in the writings of the New Testament the exhortation to pray for each other appears. The author of the Letter, after this request, expresses his broad wish which constitutes in a certain manner the concluding theological point of the Letter. He formulates a solemn prayer of blessing for the community, and once again he recalls the work of salvation accomplished by God in destroying death. He reminds his listeners that the “God of peace” has “brought back” (see Is 63:11-13) from the realm of death “the great shepherd of the sheep,” summing up the priestly office of Christ, “promoter” and “precursor.” For the first and only time in the whole Letter he speaks of “the resurrection of Jesus.” And the blessing that follows has a typically Pauline imprint: may God fulfil in us what is good and acceptable to Him. We, therefore, are able to do the will of God (l0:7, 9, 36) only if he “prepares” us for it. In his last exhortation the author prays for the readers so that they may “bear with my word of exhortation,” as if apologizing for having only “briefly” written difficult thoughts. He asks that they use “patience” and make a serious effort to receive and welcome the message that he has wished to send to them. In truth, it is so for every page of Scripture: each is to be welcomed, meditated upon, and kept in heart, as the mother of Jesus who “kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51). It is the meaning of what Gregory the Great says apropos this: “Sacred Scripture grows with those who read it.”
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
