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 Maccabees 2, 1-14
About then, Mattathias son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the line of Joarib, left Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
He had five sons, John known as Gaddi,
Simon called Thassi,
Judas called Maccabaeus,
Eleazar, called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus.
When he saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem,
he said, 'Alas that I should have been born to witness the ruin of my people and the ruin of the Holy City, and to sit by while she is delivered over to her enemies, and the sanctuary into the hand of foreigners.
'Her Temple has become like someone of no repute,
the vessels that were her glory have been carried off as booty, her babies have been slaughtered in her streets, her young men by the enemy's sword.
Is there a nation that has not claimed a share of her royal prerogatives, that has not taken some of her spoils?
All her ornaments have been snatched from her, her former freedom has become slavery.
See how the Holy Place, our beauty, our glory, is now laid waste, see how the gentiles have profaned it!
What have we left to live for?'
Mattathias and his sons tore their garments, put on sackcloth, and observed deep mourning.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
After presenting in the first chapter the persecuting actions of Antiochus and the Hellenists, the sacred author starts describing the reaction of the Jews: the priest Mattathias, with his family, leaves Jerusalem and settles not very far, in Modein, where he rises a lamentation about the destiny of the holy city. Some Jews betrayed the covenant with God, and most of them risked suffering the persecution with too much resignation, while others awakened back to faith. The clearest example is, indeed, the one of Mattathias’ family. One of his five sons’ name is Judah, called Maccabeus (from here the title of the two books). The name “Maccabeus”, which to someone means “designated from God”, though likely it means “hammer”, to show the strength of Judas while combating the oppressors of Israel. He understood that the survival of the faith in the God of the Fathers was deeply connected to the national independence of the Jews. Mattathias, on his part, was aware that he could not passively assist the wickedness of the king, Antiochus, against the Jews. The intention of eradicating faith from the hearts of the people of God was clear. For this reason he questions: “Alas! Why was I born to see this, the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city, and to live there when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to aliens?” There seems to be an echo of God’s words when He saw the agony of His people in Egypt: “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land” (Ex 3:7-8). Mattathias, in his decision of revolt, welcomes the same feeling of God for His people. Perhaps, many Jews, even if they did not betray the covenant, resigned to oppression and left the whole people in the hands of the “enemy.” The following words describe the tragedy of a people enslaved and devastated both in heart and daily life. Mattathias perceived the anger of God and becomes its interpreter: he understands that his life had to be lived to save his brothers and sisters. It was his vocation. This is the reason of his birth, otherwise: “What is life for?” Together with his sons, they decided to commit themselves to save the covenant with the Lord. The text says, they “tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.” In their hearts the responsibility for the entire people of God rose up. This is a valuable sign for us today: to discover again the personal responsibility of building the Church, of supporting and defending it, and of preserving it from evil. The question is true for us as well: what is life for if we do not spend it for the Church, for the community, and to change the world?
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
