Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo (+1584), bishop of Milan. Read more
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo (+1584), bishop of Milan.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Philippians 3,17-4,1
Brothers, be united in imitating me. Keep your eyes fixed on those who act according to the example you have from me. For there are so many people of whom I have often warned you, and now I warn you again with tears in my eyes, who behave like the enemies of Christ's cross. They are destined to be lost; their god is the stomach; they glory in what they should think shameful, since their minds are set on earthly things. But our homeland is in heaven and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transfigure the wretched body of ours into the mould of his glorious body, through the working of the power which he has, even to bring all things under his mastery. So then, my brothers and dear friends whom I miss so much, my joy and my crown, hold firm in the Lord, dear friends.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle does not hesitate to offer himself, his humanity and spirit, as a model for the Christians of Philippi to imitate amid the confusion and temptations of the community. How easy it is to let the logic of the world enter the community. Pope Benedict called this logic dirt. Pope Francis pointed to it as worldly temptations. Letting these temptations enter inhibits the community from living mercifully, for the world does not have love for the miseries of others but only judges, compares and seeks personal interests. Paul’s love for the community brings him to tears. We should never forget how our attitudes can make our brothers and sisters suffer. Paul is full of passion because he is not indifferent; he is a true brother and does not want to lose anyone who has been entrusted to him. He is truly a shepherd who loves and defends his sheep from that terrible wolf: the mentality of the world, a mentality of living for ourselves. His love is not superficial, accepting everything with indifference. He clarifies that living as an enemy of the free love of the cross leads to perdition, because it ends up in making a god of the belly, in boasting about what we should be ashamed of, namely, of being intent on earthly things. Consumerism insinuates itself among the brothers and sisters. If it is not opposed, it drains the community. Our country is in heaven. Whoever seeks heaven knows how to truly live on earth, because he or she does not remain a prisoner of earth, but knows how to see on earth things invisible, things which give meaning to everything and which do not render us prisoners of idols. We experience Jesus’ transfiguration now already if we choose the way of love, above all if we allow ourselves to be reached by the apostle’s passion that helps us understand the small yet grand complicity with the logic of the world, a logic which has nothing to do with the limitless love of Jesus.
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
