Memorial of Saint Philip Neri (+1595), "apostle of Rome." Read more
Memorial of Saint Philip Neri (+1595), "apostle of Rome."
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 10,13-16
People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples scolded them, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. In truth I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' Then he embraced them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This episode probably took place while Jesus had stopped to rest during the journey to Jerusalem. It was customary to present children to rabbis so they would bless and lay their hands on them. As noted in Mark's Gospel, wherever Jesus went he created an unbelievable atmosphere of celebration, joy and hope. It is easy to think that upon his arrival in a village, numerous children would come. Upon seeing the children that flocked around Jesus, the disciples thought better to protect him. But Jesus rebukes them because they were preventing the children from coming to him. Jesus wants them near him, and when they arrive, he "takes them in his arms" and blesses them. It is a striking scene, and it demonstrates Jesus' attention and tenderness for the little ones. And how can we not see the millions of children who in our contemporary world do not know to whom to go and remain crushed by loneliness and marginalisation? No one embraces them; no one caresses them. On the contrary, those who come near them often do so to exploit them in the most diverse and cruel ways. Consequently, those who stand by children to assist them, to help them grow, or to defend them will certainly receive a great reward. And when Jesus says: "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it," he is setting forth a lesson that is central to the life of the disciple. This concept is repeated multiple times in the Gospels. We only need to think of what Jesus says to Nicodemus: "No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" (Jn 3:3). By proposing the attitude of a child as the model of the disciple, Jesus means to emphasize the disciple's complete dependence on God, just like a child's complete dependence on his or her parents. The disciple is above all else a child who receives everything from the Father and in everything depends on Him. This is the theme of the first beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." The poor in spirit are the humble, those who become children before God in order to depend on him and who consider themselves children loved by the father because they "have received a spirit of adoption, [in which] we cry, Abba! Father!'" (Rom 8:15).
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
