Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 8,26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, 'Set out at noon and go along the road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.' So he set off on his journey. Now an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia; he was her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join that chariot.' When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' He replied, 'How could I, unless I have someone to guide me?' So he urged Philip to get in and sit by his side. Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this: Like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb in front of its shearers, he never opens his mouth. In his humiliation fair judgement was denied him. Who will ever talk about his descendants, since his life on earth has been cut short? The eunuch addressed Philip and said, 'Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?' Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the good news of Jesus to him. Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look,is some water; is there anything to prevent my being baptised?' He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and he baptised him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip appeared in Azotus and continued his journey, proclaiming the good news in every town as far as Caesarea.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
On the Gaza road, heading south, in a land inhabited today by Palestinians, there is a pilgrim who is returning from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. This man, a trusted adviser of the Candace, the queen of Ethiopia, is seated in his chariot reading Isaiah. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Philip, whom we already encountered in yesterday’s reading, approaches him and asks him if he understands what he is reading. The Ethiopian answers with sincerity: "How can I, unless someone guides me?" It is an answer we should be attention to, because it shows the normal way to find faith. No one can give faith to him or herself, and no one can understand Holy Scripture without the help of the community, without sitting, as Saint Augustine said, on the lap of the holy mother Church. Eager to understand what he was reading, the Ethiopian invites Philip to sit beside him in order to "open" his mind and help him understand the text. Something similar happened to the two disciples from Emmaus. As they returned to their village with downcast hearts, they too needed the help of a stranger to understand Scripture. We all need someone to sit next to us and help us understand the Gospel. Yes, each one of us needs to let someone into the chariot of our life to accompany us and help us understand the Scripture, that is, help us understand how the Word of God can be applied in our daily lives. None of us is self-sufficient in faith. The Ethiopian accepted Philip’s help and listened to him on his journey. At a certain point, the Ethiopian stopped the chariot and asked to be baptized. He had understood the passage he was reading, but not in an abstract way. He had a profound understanding of it: he realized that the prophet was speaking to him, too. That is why he wanted to be "baptized": he wanted what was written to come true for him, too. If we learn how to stop the chariot of our lives and let ourselves be taught how to "enter" into the pages of the Gospel, we too will find the strength to continue our journey with greater vigour and clarity. That is why we have to let ourselves be guided by the Word of God every day.
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
