Memorial of Zechariah and of Elizabeth, who in her old age conceived John the Baptist. Read more
Memorial of Zechariah and of Elizabeth, who in her old age conceived John the Baptist.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Philippians 4,10-19
As for me, I am full of joy in the Lord, now that at last your consideration for me has blossomed again; though I recognise that you really did have consideration before, but had no opportunity to show it. I do not say this because I have lacked anything; I have learnt to manage with whatever I have. I know how to live modestly, and I know how to live luxuriously too: in every way now I have mastered the secret of all conditions: full stomach and empty stomach, plenty and poverty. There is nothing I cannot do in the One who strengthens me. All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In the early days of the gospel, as you of Philippi well know, when I left Macedonia, no church other than yourselves made common account with me in the matter of expenditure and receipts. You were the only ones; and what is more, you have twice sent me what I needed in Thessalonica. It is not the gift that I value most; what I value is the interest that is mounting up in your account. I have all that I need and more: I am fully provided, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the offering that you sent, a pleasing smell, the sacrifice which is acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fulfil all your needs out of the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle speaks in a loving way to the community of Philippi. His love is not indifferent to the brothers’ and sisters’ choices. He experiences great joy in the Lord because their feelings toward the Lord have flourished. Community life and friendship among brothers and sisters are never lukewarm. And we can never create that fraternity which Pope Francis calls a condominium, without passion, that is, by only having something in common, but by omitting our personal lives. Our hearts are not divided; our choices are always personal and involve our entire lives. The apostle claims that is not looking for consideration, or asking for anything. He does so in order to tear the disciples from the temptation to neglect caring for one another and to remain distant spectators. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." The apostle is aware and helps us understand how much we can do if we are full of Jesus’ love. "Without me you cannot do anything," Jesus told his own. Jesus means that with him we can do everything, exactly because we do not confide in our poor strength but in the extraordinary power of his spirit. We have to learn to always share one another’s distress and difficulties without neglecting to offer concrete support. Paul feels strengthened by this behaviour, not only in matters of concrete material necessities, which we should never minimize, but above all in the meaning that this help represents. Whoever gives with mercy finds mercy, that is the magnificent wealth in Jesus Christ that is a life full of joy that is given, never lost and lasting.
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
