Memory of Pope Saint Calixtus (222). He was a friend to the poor and founded the house of prayer on which later would be built the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Muslims celebrate the Feast of the Sacrifice (Aid-al Adha).
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Memory of Pope Saint Calixtus (222). He was a friend to the poor and founded the house of prayer on which later would be built the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Muslims celebrate the Feast of the Sacrifice (Aid-al Adha).
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 3, 10-26
Next, Apollonius mustered the gentiles and a large force from Samaria to make war on Israel.
When Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him and routed and killed him. Many fell wounded, and the survivors took to flight.
Their spoils were seized and the sword of Apollonius was taken by Judas, who used it to fight with throughout his life.
On hearing that Judas had raised a mixed force of believers and seasoned fighters,
Seron, commander of the Syrian troops, said, 'I shall make a name for myself and gain honour in the kingdom if I fight Judas and those supporters of his who are so contemptuous of the king's orders.'
He therefore launched another expedition, with a strong army of unbelievers to support him in taking revenge on the Israelites.
He had nearly reached the descent of Beth-Horon when Judas went out to confront him with a handful of men.
But as soon as these saw the force advancing to meet them, they said to Judas, 'How can we, few as we are, engage such overwhelming numbers? We are exhausted as it is, not having had anything to eat today.'
'It is easy', Judas answered, 'for a great number to be defeated by a few; indeed, in the sight of Heaven, deliverance, whether by many or by few, is all one;
for victory in war does not depend on the size of the fighting force: Heaven accords the strength.
They are coming against us in full-blown insolence and lawlessness to destroy us, our wives and our children, and to plunder us;
but we are fighting for our lives and our laws,
and he will crush them before our eyes; do not be afraid of them.'
When he had finished speaking, he made a sudden sally against Seron and his force and overwhelmed them.
Judas pursued them down from Beth-Horon as far as the plain. About eight hundred of their men fell, and the rest took refuge in the country of the Philistines.
Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and alarm seized the surrounding peoples.
His name even reached the king's ears, and among the nations there was talk of Judas and his battles.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The action of Judas concerned the Syrian authorities quite a bit so that they decided to repress through force any idea of rebellion. Apollonius, who had already taken terrible reprisals against the Jews in Jerusalem, led the first action (1:29). In his army there were also Samaritan soldiers, who were traditionally hostile to the Jews. What is said about this first clash is only that Judas killed the majority of the enemy army and took the sword of Apollonius, who was killed, as David did after killing Goliath (1 Sam 17:51). After Apollonius’ action, there was that of Seron, his superior in the militant hierarchy, who wanted to fix the check suffered by his subordinate Apollonius. He gathered an army stronger than Judas’, both because of number and of tactic skills. Judas’ army was made of a small group of “pious” Jews (Hasideans) and some badly equipped and suffering warriors due to their vagabond life. After seeing so numerous an army, they felt disheartened and told Judas, “How can we, few as we are, fight against so great and so strong multitude? And we are faint, for we have eaten nothing today.” But Judas, recalling the faith in the Lord, answered, “It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few. It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven.” And he continued: “They come against us in great insolence and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to despoil us. But we fight for our lives and our laws. He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of them.” The entire story of the people of Israel is marked by this conviction of faith: it is not the strength of humans that saves Israel but the power of God that guides and protects it. With his words, Judas strengthens the faith of his troops, defeating the enemy army that is far better equipped and more powerful. This is the logic of faith which century after century reaches us as well: our salvation is in God only.
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
