Memorial of Onesimus, slave of Philemon, a brother in faith of the Apostle Paul. Read more
Memorial of Onesimus, slave of Philemon, a brother in faith of the Apostle Paul.
Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Isaiah 55,10-11
For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat, so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
These verses conclude the second part of the book of Isaiah, begun in chapter 40, the work of a prophet who lived during the exile in Babylon. The time after the exile, however, was difficult for Israel. The dramatic experience of the exile brought with it doubts and uncertainty. Of course, the return to Jerusalem had given rise to great hope. But there were also serious questions about how to begin life again after the bitter experience of the exile. There was a clear conviction: the Word of God had to become once more the foundation and the root that nourished the people’s faith. Yes, faith in the Lord and his help had to become the strength and hope of the people again, just as it must today for the entire Christian community and for each individual believer. Indeed, the Word of God has an incredible strength to change things - even if we continue to be sceptical. God himself sent the Word so that it would be effective, that is, so that it would change history and hearts. The prophet confirms this: just as rain and snow water the ground and make it fertile, so does the Word of God. When it is listened to and welcomed in the heart - this is the meaning of the parable of the sower - it bears much fruit. This is why it is good for us to ask ourselves whether we listen to the Lord when He speaks to us. The Apostle Paul clearly states, "So faith comes from what is heard" (Rom 10:17). When we continue to repeat the same old habits, when we have trouble changing our lives on the path to love, when we remain prisoners of our selfishness, or when we fall into the old habit of blaming others, should we not instead ask ourselves: Am I listening to the Lord when He speaks to me? Do I let his Word enter my heart and make it fertile? Am I like Mary, who "kept" the Word of God in her heart? How often instead are our hearts full of worry, anxiety, obstacles, bad feelings, and passions that suffocate the Word of God even when we do listen to it? Should we not let ourselves be guided more by the Gospel and imitate the Lord Jesus? And when we say we listen to the Gospel but are not able to put it into practice, we should ask ourselves whether we really listen to it, whether our hearts are open and attentive to what is preached to us. It is repeated in several places in the Gospel that the seed of the Word is effective. Trusting in this evangelic conviction, we are asked to never neglect to listen to the Word of God, which will certainly have its effect. The prophet affirms that the Word will never return to God "empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Let us ask the Lord to give us a heart ready to listen, so that we can experience the conversion that is asked of us all during this season.
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
