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
1 Timothy 3,1-13
Here is a saying that you can rely on: to want to be a presiding elder is to desire a noble task. That is why the presiding elder must have an impeccable character. Husband of one wife, he must be temperate, discreet and courteous, hospitable and a good teacher; not a heavy drinker, nor hot-tempered, but gentle and peaceable, not avaricious, a man who manages his own household well and brings his children up to obey him and be well-behaved: how can any man who does not understand how to manage his own household take care of the Church of God? He should not be a new convert, in case pride should turn his head and he incur the same condemnation as the devil. It is also necessary that he be held in good repute by outsiders, so that he never falls into disrepute and into the devil's trap. Similarly, deacons must be respectable, not double-tongued, moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money. They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They are first to be examined, and admitted to serve as deacons only if there is nothing against them. Similarly, women must be respectable, not gossips, but sober and wholly reliable. Deacons must be husbands of one wife and must be people who manage their children and households well. Those of them who carry out their duties well as deacons will earn a high standing for themselves and an authoritative voice in matters concerning faith in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
After speaking of common prayer, the apostle calls Timothy's attention to the care in the choice of the community leaders. And he begins by talking about the "bishop" (literally "he who watches"). Paul knows that this ministry is "a noble task." In fact, the bishop is called to be among the disciples "as one who serves" precisely as Jesus showed himself at the last supper. The presence of this ministry does not decrease the responsibility that each disciple has for the life of the brothers and sisters. The spirit of fraternity that must reign in the community requires it. The "bishop" is asked, precisely for his guiding role, to be aware of his responsibility. Authority in the Church is based primarily on the exemplariness of life: from it emanates the authority of those who must guide the brothers and sisters. For this reason the apostle asks that the "bishop" be "married only once", as if to emphasize his fidelity to a single bond. He should also be also moderate, showing wisdom in judging and deciding, and ready in hospitality. As if to underline the bond between the family of God and the domestic family, Paul asks the bishop for the same qualities as a father in the family: only he who knows how to be a father, brother and son in the spirit of the Gospel can indicate the right way of the Christian fraternity to the brothers and sisters of the community. Next to the ministry of "bishop" Paul recalls that of the deacon. It is a delicate ministry in the life of the first Christian communities. Only after having secured their conduct can they be chosen for this service. And they must "hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience" since they assist the poor, preach and baptize. Nothing harms faith as pride and protagonism that in fact deny the truth of being "servants" inscribed in the very term of a deacon. It could also be said that they show the bishop and all the believers that the life of the disciple must always be "diaconal", that is, a service to the Gospel, to the community and to the poor.
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
