Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 14, 27-31a
Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me say: I am going away and shall return. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.
I shall not talk to you much longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me,
but the world must recognise that I love the Father and that I act just as the Father commanded. Come now, let us go.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This Gospel passage opens with entrusting peace to the disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Jesus understands well that separation from him--after three years of intense friendship--is difficult and painful for his disciples. He promises them the gift of the Spirit: “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” And now he gives them his peace, a messianic peace that includes every blessing of God. It is not just any peace, but that which he himself lives and which is born from the confidence with the Father, from the certainty of not being alone, from the faith of never lacking the support and consolation of God. It is an inheritance that only the disciples have and that they must witness to the world. Therefore Jesus exhorts them not to be afraid, not to be troubled. He repeats the words that he has already said to them: “I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” And he adds that they should even be happy that he is going to the Father. These seem like difficult words to understand. How can they be happy knowing that their dearest friend--the one who has saved them from a life without meaning--is going away? In reality Jesus wants to prepare them for the ministry of his Easter and of his ascension into heaven. In fact, to be at the “right-hand of the Father” does not mean distancing from them and from the world; rather, the Lord will stay close to them wherever they are and will never leave them or anyone alone. The disciples will spread out along the streets of the world to communicate the Gospel, but he will accompany them, supporting them with his own strength. Sure, the prince of Evil, the devil works to break the bond of love between Jesus and his own. Nevertheless Jesus’ death, even if it is the work of Evil, is above all the choice of the Son who, for love, gives his life for the salvation of all. And so Jesus’ physical departure is not the fruit of a betrayal like those that we are used to. How many bonds break, how many separations happen among men and women! The “departure” of Jesus toward the Father is the sign of a greater love, that of the Son toward the Father in heaven. “But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” It is on this path of obedience to God that the disciples discover love’s eternity.
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
