Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Psalm 24, 1-6
1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Normally, this Psalm is associated with the liturgy celebrated during the entrance into the Temple at the end of a pilgrimage. Hence the question posed to the pilgrim who had finally arrived: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?” These questions are relevant both to the entire life-journey of a believer and to the liturgical celebrations he or she is invited to attend. We can apply them to the disciple of Jesus on the weekly journey that leads to the Eucharistic celebration on the Day of the Lord. And so, who can ascend the holy mountain? Who can be welcomed at the Eucharistic table? The answer is simple and concrete: “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully” (v. 4). The psalmist is talking about innocent handsthat is, good hands that are unstained by violence and exploitation. He speaks of a pure heartthat is, of a heart full of the Word of the Lord, cleansed of and liberated from every kind of slavery, and moulded by love’s generosity. He also speaks of a mouth that serves truth and that does not liethat is, of a mouth that knows how to comfort and praise and that does not judge or condemn. With these attributes the believer can ascend the mountain to God and receive God’s blessing. It is the blessing of dwelling in the house of the Lord. The face of God will be revealed to all who seek God with innocent hands and pure hearts. Paul writes that we can see God’s face today, “like in a mirror,” in the community of believers, and we will see it tomorrow “face to face” in the heavenly Jerusalem. The words of the Psalm invite us to welcome the Lord in our midst here and now, as if in a solemn liturgy. The psalmist says, “Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in,” for God is “The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle” (v. 7-8). This Psalm echoes the encounter on Mount Horeb, when God revealed His name to Moses: “I am the Lord, who is with you and with my people forever.”
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
