Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 17,15-22
Paul's escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could. Paul waited for them in Athens and there his whole soul was revolted at the sight of a city given over to idolatry. In the synagogue he debated with the Jews and the godfearing, and in the market place he debated every day with anyone whom he met. Even a few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some said, 'What can this parrot mean?' And, because he was preaching about Jesus and Resurrection, others said, 'He seems to be a propagandist for some outlandish gods.' They got him to accompany them to the Areopagus, where they said to him, 'Can we know what this new doctrine is that you are teaching? Some of the things you say seemed startling to us and we would like to find out what they mean.' The one amusement the Athenians and the foreigners living there seem to have is to discuss and listen to the latest ideas. So Paul stood before the whole council of the Areopagus and made this speech: 'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
According to God’s plan, persecution pushed the disciples to communicate the good news of the kingdom in new places. The Lord turned the cruelty of those who opposed the Gospel into an advantage. Thus Paul came to Athens as a fugitive. Although it was no longer as prosperous a city as it was in the days of Plato, Athens was still a large capital. According to Luke’s narrative, after being in Jerusalem and before going to Rome, Paul had to preach the Gospel in Athens, the cultural capital of the time. Paul did not begin challenging the Athenians immediately after arriving in the city. He preferred to follow the crowds through the agora and the market in order to understand the mind-set of the Athenians. It was a very delicate challenge, and Paul knew it. Therefore he wanted to understand the culture, the customs, the feelings, and the life of the Athenians from the inside, so to speak. The great question in Paul’s heart was clear: could Jerusalem conquer Athens? Could the Gospel touch the heart of the Areopagus? It is the same question we ask ourselves when faced with the many "Areopaguses" of this world, the many cultures that inhabit this planet and pass through the hearts and minds of men and women. The audacity of Paul, who courageously stands before the wise people of Athens, shows that no "Areopagus", no culture, is foreign to the preaching of the Gospel. Rather, the "Areopaguses" of today are waiting for disciples who have the wisdom and the strength to proclaim the salvation that comes from Jesus. This is the great challenge that faces all Christians, the challenge that we cannot avoid, because the Gospel alone can make the world in which we live more human.
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
