Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Luke 18, 9-14
He spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being upright and despised everyone else,
'Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, "I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone else, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here.
I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get."
The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
This man, I tell you, went home again justified; the other did not. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, but anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.'
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
This page of the Gospel reports a parable Jesus told his disciples concerning how to pray. Several times Jesus taught his disciples about perseverance in prayer and the confidence they should have in turning to God. In this parable Jesus emphasizes the indispensability of humility in prayer. It is a necessary teaching since it is easy to be in God’s presence with the Pharisee attitude, claiming to be right and trusting only himself. Considering ourselves sinners and in need of forgiveness and mercy is more difficult. But Jesus warns us that pride and boldness tarnish trust in God at its very root and, in addition, they yield harsh attitudes towards others. The Pharisee goes to the temple not to beg for help or mercy, rather to praise himself in God’s presence and to claim his rights. He feels being in credit with God and claims his dues. The tax collector, on the contrary, in spite of being wealthy, respected and even feared because of his position, feels in need of help and mercy. Hence he climbs empty handed to the temple, not to claim rights but to seek aid. We could say that he goes to the temple as a beggar of pardon. Jesus tells us clearly that he is forgiven since he trusts in God, not in his wealth and reputation. Contrary to the Pharisee who confides in himself and is satisfied with his deeds and who comes back empty handed. How often in life we feel righteous and act like the Pharisee. Let us think how hard it is even recognizing our sins. We are quite able in finding and passing judgment on other’s evil acts, yet quite poor in recognizing and confessing our own. The Gospel paradox is quite evident: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Indeed the psalm proclaims: “those who are poor seek the Lord.” Let us learn humility that is the path to the encounter with God, rather than exalting ourselves above others or judging others with no compassion, feeling better than them. Let us imitate the tax collector and continue to be in the presence of the Lord, acknowledging that we are sinners and therefore begging Him for help and pardon.
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
