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
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 20,29-32
'I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never slackened in counselling each one of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In bidding farewell to the elders, Paul confirms the pastoral commitment that led his activities in Ephesus for three years. His words to them have the flavour of a last will. And the elders receive them with moved attention. Truly, they can imitate the apostle in his pastoral commitment. Paul knows that with his departure, problems will rise in the life of the community. Therefore, he exhorts them to be alert, as, in fact, he did without sparing himself of any effort. He reminds them, “I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears” (v. 31). His are passionate words that show the extraordinary love of Paul for the community of Ephesus. He knows nonetheless that Christian life, including that of shepherds, is not only the fruit of the good will of the individuals. It is the Lord who gives strength and wisdom to fulfil Christian life. This is why he tells them, “And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace.” It is very peculiar that the apostle does not entrust the Word to the minsters, but rather the ministers to the Word. It is a statement that may seem paradoxical. In truth, to entrust the believers to the Word means that they are called to put their faith and their hope in the Word of God and not in themselves, in their ideas, or in other people or things. Thus, every day, as authentic servants of the Lord, we should make our hearts attentive to the Word (Is 50:4); every day we should let the Lord open our ears without withdrawing (Is 50:5); every day we should make room for the Word of God so that it may dwell in us (Jn 15:7). Even before being entrusted to us so that we may communicate it, the Word keeps, protects and blesses us, as during the liturgical celebration at the end of the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus’ disciples will be able to bring the Word to others only if the Word will first sustain them. The Gospel remains the substance of the life of the Church and therefore also ours. Without the Gospel, the Church is nothing; and without the Gospel, we do not have anything to say to anyone. Without the Gospel, it is useless to occupy ourselves, even with sacred things. The Gospel is the Lord himself. And as he said, “Because apart from me, you can do nothing,” (Jn 15:5) in the same way without a life-giving encounter with the Word of God, even our life loses its meaning.
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
