Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 5,17-19
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The novelty of the Gospel is not about breaking with the biblical tradition of the First Testament. On the contrary, Jesus clearly affirms that he has come to fulfil the covenant that God has established with his people and which finds its codification in the Law and the Prophets. The entire love story that God has woven with His people, from Abraham to the Baptist, finds in Jesus its fulfilment and its full realization. That love that urged God himself to come down to free His people from the slavery of Egypt, to accompany them on the long journey in the desert and in the following centuries, reached the summit with Jesus. The Letter to the Hebrews writes it very clearly: "Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb 1:1-2). Jesus does not erase past history, he brings it to completion. So it is with the biblical texts. Jesus does not erase them, if anything, he descends into the depths to capture the spark of God and make it shine in its purest brilliance. We could say that in every word of Scripture there is the spark of God. For this reason it must not be lost. And every time it is lost, that spark is lost with it. That is why Jesus says: "Until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass." The recommendation of Francis of Assisi to his friars to collect every little piece of parchment that has fallen on the ground comes to mind: "It may contain some words of the Gospel," he said. And Jesus adds: "Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, .... will be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Jesus asks that all of Scripture be accepted and become light for believers. Following the Master, the disciples must also bring to completion what is written in the Scriptures in everyday life. And we can sum up the heart of the biblical pages, the thread that binds them all, in the exhortation that Jesus makes at the end of his discourse: " Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." And perfection is love.
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
