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
Romans 9, 1-5
This is the truth and I am speaking in Christ, without pretence, as my conscience testifies for me in the Holy Spirit;
there is great sorrow and unremitting agony in my heart:
I could pray that I myself might be accursed and cut off from Christ, if this could benefit the brothers who are my own flesh and blood.
They are Israelites; it was they who were adopted as children, the glory was theirs and the covenants; to them were given the Law and the worship of God and the promises.
To them belong the fathers and out of them, so far as physical descent is concerned, came Christ who is above all, God, blessed for ever. Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
After having spoken of the revelation of the justice of God, who justifies believers and gives them the ability to live according to the Spirit, the apostle now turns his attention to the people of Israel and the mystery of their history. He feels deeply connected to the history of the people God has chosen, starting with Abraham. And, deeply anguished, he asks what will become of this people if salvation depends on Jesus Christ and no longer on the law. The apostle obviously feels bitterness because his former brethren in the flesh do not get to enjoy the new covenant established by Jesus: "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs. "In fact - Paul adds- "And from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. " The people of the first covenant let themselves be caught - he affirms - by the presumption of already possessing God’s favour through the law. And this belief led them to stumble, on the "stumbling block," itself, that is, by not recognizing Jesus as the Son of God. Nonetheless - and here the apostle touches on the mystery of God’s faithfulness - "It is not as though the word of God had failed." The apostle tries to resolve the problem of the identity of the true Israel. He affirms that not all the descendants of Israel are truly such. It is not enough to be descended by flesh and blood to be children of God; it is necessary for our hearts to accept the Gospel of Christ. Only faith, that is, the free and complete acceptance of God by our hearts, will free us from the slavery of the flesh and give us a part in salvation. This is why even Jesus’ disciples must be on guard against belonging to the community of believers in an exterior, individualistic, or ritual way. Only faith marked by love saves.
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
