Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Luke 16,19-31
'There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there used to lie a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with what fell from the rich man's table. Even dogs came and licked his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham's embrace. The rich man also died and was buried. 'In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace. So he cried out, "Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames." Abraham said, "My son, remember that during your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to prevent those who want to cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours." 'So he said, "Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father's house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too." Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them." The rich man replied, "Ah no, father Abraham, but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent." Then Abraham said to him, "If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead."
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Gospel passage about the poor man Lazarus is among the best known, in part because it describes one of the most common situations in the lives of our societies. The rich man who dines sumptuously is not relegated to the past, and even Lazarus has not disappeared. Two people and two situations: below is Lazarus, who looks at the rich man's table, hoping that at least a crumb might fall down to him. Above, the rich man continues to feast as if Lazarus did not exist; he does not even see him. Today there are whole peoples of the poor standing at the doors of the rich waiting for crumbs. Truly the rich man has lost not only his name, but also his face. God, on the contrary, takes Lazarus's side and calls him by name, as one does with friends. Because he was cast aside by men and women, he is beloved by God and selected to take part in the heavenly banquet. For the Lord, and consequently for his disciples, the gap between the rich man and Lazarus is an unacceptable scandal, which cannot be justified. But that great chasm marks the very sad destiny of the rich man. Unfortunately, he realizes it too late, when that chasm is impossible to cross. And yet just a little attention would have been enough during his life. The reversal is total. At this point, the rich man asks at least for his brothers to be warned. He does not realize that it does not take great effort to fill the chasm, it is enough to open the Scriptures (Moses and the Prophets). And if he had done so, it would have not only opened the eyes of his body, it would have opened the eyes of his heart. That is what is asked of us during this season of Lent. The Word of God touches our hearts and guides them towards mercy for the many Lazaruses that are in our cities. We must keep the chasm between the poor and the rich from becoming deeper and wider. If we listen to the Word of God and not ourselves, we will see the growth of compassion towards the poor and we will listen to their cry, see their need, and be able to offer them much more than crumbs. We will also be able to offer some love, friendship, and company. Following the Gospel's example, we will be able to say that the poor do not live on bread alone, but also on love. And anyone who has had this experience is able to understand the meaning of the words of Jesus reported by the apostle Paul, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
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
