Memory of St. Stanislaw, bishop of Krakow and martyr (+1071). He defended the poor, the dignity of men and women, and the freedom of the Gospel and the Church Read more
Memory of St. Stanislaw, bishop of Krakow and martyr (+1071). He defended the poor, the dignity of men and women, and the freedom of the Gospel and the Church
Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
John 8, 1-11
and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in the middle
they said to Jesus, 'Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery,
and in the Law Moses has ordered us to stone women of this kind. What have you got to say?'
They asked him this as a test, looking for an accusation to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger.
As they persisted with their question, he straightened up and said, 'Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her.'
Then he bent down and continued writing on the ground.
When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until the last one had gone and Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained in the middle.
Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'
'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.'
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Gospel tells us the extraordinary story of an adulterer who is literally thrown to the ground in front of Jesus while he is teaching in the temple. According to the law of Moses, such a woman is to be stoned. If the law were clear, even more evident was the violence that animated those scribes and Pharisees to throw the sinful woman at Jesus’ feet. In the face of this violent act, Jesus is silent. But the evangelist notes that Jesus "bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground." The Lord of the Word remains silent. Only her accusers continue to yell indecently. The woman is also silent. She is well aware that her life hangs by a thread, by a sentence that can come from the mouth of the young prophet. Jesus finally raises his head and turning to the accusing Pharisees says: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And he bends down again to write on the ground. His answer disarms them all. Struck by these words, "they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders," the evangelist remarks wryly. It is a moment of truth. No one remains in the clearing, except for Jesus and the woman: the merciful one and the sinner. Jesus spoke with her in a tone he often took with difficult people: "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? ...Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." Jesus was the only one who could have lifted his hand and thrown stones to kill the woman; he, the only just one, spoke to her with words of forgiveness and love. This is the Gospel of love that the disciples ought to welcome and communicate to the world at the beginning of this new century, so needy for forgiveness. This Gospel passage is not about condoning sin. It is anything but that. Jesus says to her: "Go and sin no more!" A change of heart is what is needed. Here begins salvation from the slavery 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
