Memory of St. John Chrysostom ("golden mouth"), bishop and doctor of the Church (349-407). The most common liturgy of the Byzantine Church takes its name from him. Read more
Memory of St. John Chrysostom ("golden mouth"), bishop and doctor of the Church (349-407). The most common liturgy of the Byzantine Church takes its name from him.
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
Luke 7, 11-17
It happened that soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.
Now when he was near the gate of the town there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople was with her.
When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, 'Don't cry.'
Then he went up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, 'Young man, I tell you: get up.'
And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Everyone was filled with awe and glorified God saying, 'A great prophet has risen up among us; God has visited his people.'
And this view of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
A young man is dead, the only son of a widowed mother. This mother’s life is shattered. Every thread of hope appears to be definitely broken. All that seems possible to do for this mother is to help her to bury her son and console her in her grief. Nevertheless it is written that that which is impossible for humans is possible for God. Seeing the funeral procession, which exited from the gate of the little city of Naim to go to the cemetery, Jesus is moved by compassion for the widow who saw her life in shatters. He draws near to the crowded procession -many people had come and seeks out the widow and goes to her side to console her. He immediately tells her not to cry. He then goes toward the stretcher on which is lain the dead youth, perhaps covered by a veil. It was forbidden to touch a corpse. But Jesus breaks this prescription of the Leviticus law. The evangelist notes that Jesus "was overtaken by great compassion" at the sight of the grieving mother. It is the same feeling that had impelled him to come down from heaven, to walk through the streets and squares of his time amidst the tired and exhausted throngs as if they were sheep without a shepherd. The procession upon seeing this scene stops. Jesus then turns to the dead young man and says, "Young man, I say to you: rise!" Jesus speaks to him as if he were alive. And the youth seems to hear Jesus’ voice so much that he gets up and begins to speak. Had not the centurion said, "Speak only the word and let my servant be healed"? The Gospel word is always efficacious if it is received by the heart. It revives our lives, restores energy to those who have lost it, creates new hearts for those with hearts of stone, and offers brothers and sisters to those who are alone. Today many young people live like the dead, without hope for the future. They are waiting for someone to stop by their sides and say to them directly: "Young man, I say to you: rise!" The Gospel helps us to work and hope for them. They need someone who will be close with them, who will stop their slow slipping into death, who will touch them as Jesus did and share with them words that are true, strong, authoritative, and hopeful. Though they may appear not to listen to them, this is not the case. If our words come from a heart full of compassion like Jesus’, they will be able to listen to them. John Paul II gave us an example in this sense. He knew how to touch the hearts of the youth and to encourage them to a new life. Each Christian community, each disciple is called to feel Jesus’ compassion for the youth. Even in our life, it is from a heart filled with compassion that will spring the words that will be able to give back hope to the youth.
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
