Memorial of the terrorist attacks in the United States. Memorial of the victims of terrorism and violence and prayer for peace Read more
Memorial of the terrorist attacks in the United States. Memorial of the victims of terrorism and violence and prayer for peace
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 6, 27-38
'But I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.
To anyone who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek as well; to anyone who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from someone who takes it.
Treat others as you would like people to treat you.
If you love those who love you, what credit can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit can you expect? For even sinners do that much.
And if you lend to those from whom you hope to get money back, what credit can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.
Instead, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel passage today shows us the second part of Jesus’ sermon, which in Luke’s Gospel he gives from the plain, and not from the mountain, as Matthew’s Gospel reports. If Jesus was speaking directly to his disciples in the first part of his sermon, in the second part, he now addresses everyone, “to you who hear”, to the multitude of the poor and sick who came from all parts (Lk 6:17-19). The Gospel excludes no one from the path of salvation and happiness, which Jesus shows us. And to all, Jesus proposes a high, demanding ideal that seems to some to be unrealistic. Beyond a doubt, Jesus encourages us to love in a way that is not calculating and that even goes beyond reason. Jesus begins to say things that had never been said before: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”. This command is truly foreign to the world’s way of thinking, and for this, it is often mocked. One could say that these words are nice, but wholly impractical. Yet, only in these words can the world find salvation. Only from this perspective can we find the way to stop war and the motivation to build up peaceful coexistence between peoples and nations. For Jesus, there are no more enemies to hate and fight. For himand for every disciplethere are only brothers and sisters to love, at most to correct, and in any way, always to help along the path of salvation. The underlying reason for Jesus’ words is found in the very example of God, who primarily is merciful and gracious with all, even with the “ungrateful and wicked.” The ideal that Jesus presents to those who listen is as high as heaven, which is why he says: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” This is not a moral command; it is a lifestyle. Our salvation depends upon it. Jesus then adds what we call the “golden rule”: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (v.31). This “rule” is present in all religions, like a golden thread that deeply binds together all peoples and nations. The more aware we are of this rule the more peaceful and beautiful are most of our relationships. Abiding by this rule breaks up at the root the poison of egoism that leads to conflict. This choice involves the conversion of our heart and also of our behaviour and life. From new hearts flows a new life for everyone. This is why Jesus urges us “not to judge” and “condemn”, but to forgive and to give with “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together.” Who behaves so, in turn receives the same measure.
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
