Memorial of the Saint Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The Ethiopian Church, one of the first among the African churches, venerates St. Michael as her protector. Read more
Memorial of the Saint Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The Ethiopian Church, one of the first among the African churches, venerates St. Michael as her protector.
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
John 1,47-51
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.' Nathanael asked, 'How do you know me?' Jesus replied, 'Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.' Nathanael answered, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.' Jesus replied, 'You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You are going to see greater things than that.' And then he added, 'In all truth I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of man.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today’s liturgy remembers the Holy Archangels: Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael. Their names indicate their missions. Michael means, "Who is like God?" It is a name that indicates his power to remind people of God’s greatness, against the pride of those who want to put themselves in God’s place. In the Biblical tradition, he is the one who fights against the devil, the prince of division who is always trying to use pride to separate humanity from God. Gabriel means "God’s proclamation." He is the Angel who proclaims what the Lord is about to do. We find this Angel in the Book of Daniel and in the Gospel of Luke. He is the one who brings the good news to Zacharias in the temple of Jerusalem and to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth. Raphael means "God heals." He is the protagonist of the entire book of Tobit. He leads Tobias through impassable roads and difficult passages. He accompanies him and heals his life and the lives of his loved ones. ? As summarized in the Letter to the Hebrews, in the biblical tradition angels: "are spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation" (1:14). To them God entrusts the task of communicating his will. It is true that Paul reminds us that "there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human" (1 Tim 2:5), but nonetheless the Churches attest to the role of these messengers of God in the history of salvation. Either way, they assure us of God’s constant presence at our side. Moreover, they celebrate a continuous liturgy in God’s presence in heaven, which believers join each time they celebrate the Mass, proclaiming God, thrice Holy. ?And with his words to Nathanael, Jesus reveals a great truth to us today. He really is the only mediator between God and humanity. He is the one who opened heaven once and for all. Through him, the Angels descend to bring every heavenly gift to men and women. Through him the Angels climb into heaven to present to God every request for grace, blessing, and salvation. They are effective, and mysteriously at work, in the prayer that we address to the Lord every day. "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." The Angels are then ministers of the Lord Jesus. Ministers of his grace, his truth, and his glory. Ministers of his love for men and women. Ministers of comfort and consolation. Ministers who are called to accompany men and women on their journey to heaven. With their "ascending and descending" they testify to the constant presence of the Lord in our lives. Therefore the fear that can arise in believers when faced with the randomness and the dark forces of nature is out of place. The Lord does not abandon us. God surrounds us with his angels so that nothing can take us away from Him and to the power of the forces of evil.
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
