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, 1-8
Continue to love each other like brothers,
and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Keep in mind those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; and those who are being badly treated, since you too are in the body.
Marriage must be honoured by all, and marriages must be kept undefiled, because the sexually immoral and adulterers will come under God's judgement.
Put avarice out of your lives and be content with whatever you have; God himself has said: I shall not fail you or desert you,
and so we can say with confidence: With the Lord on my side, I fear nothing: what can human beings do to me?
Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, take their faith as your model.
Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The last chapter of the letter to the Hebrews opens with a command to love: “Let mutual love continue.” This does not simply mean distinguishing oneself in charitable works, as was done in the past (see 6:10, 10:33) but to “continue” in love. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”(Jn 13:5) Mutual love identifies the community as Christian and renders it a convincing witness to the Gospel. “Hospitality” is an integral part of this fraternal love; indeed biblical tradition is crossed by this golden thread. Moreover, the author reminds us that “for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” The reference is to Abraham who welcomed three travellers by the oak tree in Mamre (see Gen 18). We may add, too, that the importance of hospitality marks the entire Christian story; at the Last Judgment, Jesus says in Matthew, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Fraternal love does not remain closed in on its own community but necessarily reaches out to others: the imprisoned, the suffering and all those who need help. How full of tenderness is the invitation to “remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” This is an invitation not only to solidarity but also to paying attention to another person as though he or she were part of our family. The Church is indeed God’s family, a family that includes the poor. Marriage too is included in this horizon of love, which the author wishes to preserve from betrayals that stem from instincts or coveting desires. Beyond a simple sexual union, marriage is aimed at creating a family that, in society and in the Church, allows a harmonious existence between people of all ages and status in life. Christians are invited to choose a sober way of life without succumbing to the frenetic race for personal well being and ignoring the lives of everyone else. This is why the Letter to the Hebrews warns primarily against greed, that is, the accumulation of riches for oneself without regard to one’s responsibility to the poor and weak. The appeal to be content with what one has is not an invitation to resignation but an exhortation to abandon oneself to God and his mercy that will never abandon us. It is the way of life lived by Jesus himself and transmitted to his disciples. With an awareness that the unity of the community depends also on the one who is charged with leading it, the Letter concludes with this exhortation: to remember the one who has the responsibility of “announcing the Word of God.” The apostle Paul writes that faith depends on listening. This is why Christians are called to listen to the preacher and welcome his or her words in their hearts. If whoever preaches responds to God by his or her ministry, believers respond to God on how they listen to them. The encouragement to remember the leaders of the community is very appropriate; their preaching should be treasured since “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” Their faith is to be imitated and they should be accompanied in prayer, to help and sustain them so that they may fulfil their pastoral ministries with the utmost care.
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
