Memorial of Don Andrea Santoro, a Roman priest killed in Trebizond, Turkey. Read more
Memorial of Don Andrea Santoro, a Roman priest killed in Trebizond, Turkey.
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
Sirach 47,2-13
As the fat is set apart from the communion sacrifice, so was David chosen out of the Israelites. He played with lions as though with kids, and with bears as though with lambs. While still a boy, did he not slay the giant and take away the people's shame, by hurling a stone from his sling and cutting short the boasting of Goliath? For he called on the Lord Most High, who gave strength to his right arm to put a mighty warrior to death and assert the strength of his own people. Hence they gave him credit for ten thousand, and praised him while they blessed the Lord, by offering him a crown of glory. For he destroyed the enemies on every front, he annihilated his foes, the Philistines, and crushed their strength for ever. In all his activities he gave thanks to the Holy One Most High in words of glory; he put all his heart into his songs out of love for his Creator. He placed singers before the altar, melodiously to sing; he gave the feasts their splendour, the festivals their solemn pomp, causing the Lord's holy name to be praised and the sanctuary to resound from dawn. The Lord took away his sins, making his strength ever greater; he gave him a royal covenant, and a glorious throne in Israel. A wise son succeeded him, who lived content, thanks to him. Solomon reigned in a time of peace, and God gave him peace all round so that he could raise a house to his name and prepare an everlasting sanctuary.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This passage of Sirach is taken from the chapters praising the "fathers", especially of David and Solomon. It is a wisdom reflection that reveals David as the chosen of God, to whom God entrusted his plan of love for his people. The text seems to forget the sin committed by David; only towards the end of the passage it remembers that "the Lord took away his sins." The author seems to emphasize the greatness of God’s mercy that is far greater than the sins of men and women, to the point of almost forgetting them. What matters is the choice that God makes of his servants. The person elected is given dignity by the fact that he is chosen to be at the service of salvation. The Lord reserved David for himself, just as he wanted the best part of sacrifices reserved for him. (see Lv 3:9-17). David became the witness of God’s power and love for his people. The author then gives particular emphasis to a text in which he explains that David was great not so much for his faith that enabled him to defeat the giant, Goliath, the terror of the people of Israel, but especially because he sang the praises of God in psalms: "He sang praise with all his heart and he loved his Maker." And, even today in the Christian tradition, believers continue to praise the Lord with the splendid prayers of the Psalms. David’s praise increases because he organized the worship before God: "He placed singers before the altar, to make sweet melody with their voices. He gave beauty to the festivals, and arranged their times throughout the year, while they praised God’s holy name, and the sanctuary resounded from early morning." These words make us think about the beauty that should shine in our celebrations as well. They invite us to make our churches, our sanctuaries, and our places dedicated to the Lord beautiful and dignified. The Byzantine tradition that conceives and builds churches as a foretaste of the Kingdom of God on earth, as the beginning of paradise, is beautiful and full of meaning. It is in the churches that we are built into the living stones who praise the Lord.
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
