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
Sirach 48,1-14
Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch. It was he who brought famine on them and decimated them in his zeal. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, three times also he brought down fire. How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have?- rousing a corpse from death, from Sheol, by the word of the Most High; dragging kings down to destruction, and high dignitaries from their beds; hearing a rebuke on Sinai and decrees of punishment on Horeb; anointing kings as avengers, and prophets to succeed you; taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses; designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God's wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed, those who will see you, and those who have fallen asleep in love; for we too shall certainly have life. Such was Elijah, who was enveloped in a whirlwind; and Elisha was filled with his spirit; throughout his life no ruler could shake him, and no one could subdue him. No task was too hard for him, and even in death his body prophesied. In his lifetime he performed wonders, and in death his works were marvellous.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today the Word of God presents Elijah, both in the first reading from Sirach and in the Gospel of Matthew (17:10-13) where Jesus speaks of Elijah as he comes down from the mountain after the Transfiguration. Tradition at that time expected Elijah before the Messiah. In reality, Jesus confirms that he has already come. But he meant John the Baptist. Sirach presents Elijah with harsh words: "Then Elijah arose, a prophet like fire, and his word burned like a torch." The people of God had hardened their hearts and obstinately behaved violently and sinfully. It is easy to refuse to listen to the Word of God even if it is proclaimed so abundantly in our lives. While the Lord involves us in his dream of peace for the worldalmost previewing the flow of history with his wordpride blinds us and prevents us from being amazed at God’s work and from gratefully enjoying it. Instead, the Word of the Lord overcomes our habit of taking things for granted, and surprises us with its novelty. "From this time forward I make you hear new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, so that you could not say, I already knew them.’" (Is 48: 6-7). If the words of the prophets seem already known, if they do not surprise us, if they do not reach the depths of our hearts, it is because we are too sure of being able to hear and live those words. In fact, we listen to ourselves and our habits. The Lord comes though and raises up prophets to shake our hearts. In this time that needs such great changes, the Lord makes Elijah, the new prophet, resound in our ears. The preaching we hear in these times, and not only that of Pope Francis, indeed similar to Elijah, continues to come down "three times like fire" into our hearts. Many are the marvels in which we participate. Isn’t there a fire that flames up and that "leads the heart of the father toward his children?" It is this fire of preaching that wants to involve all of us in Elijah’s prophecy, so that every wound may be healed and brotherhood made whole again.
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
