Prayer for the unity of Christians. Particular memory of the Christian communities in Europe and the Americas Read more
Prayer for the unity of Christians. Particular memory of the Christian communities in Europe and the Americas
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Samuel 5,1-7.10
All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron and said, 'Look, we are your own flesh and bone. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel on its campaigns, and to you it was that Yahweh promised, "You are to shepherd my people Israel and be leader of Israel." ' So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them in Yahweh's presence at Hebron, and they anointed David as king of Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; then he reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years. The king and his men then marched on Jerusalem, on the Jebusites living in the territory. These said to David, 'You will not get in here. The blind and the lame will hold you off.' (That is to say: David will never get in here.) But David captured the citadel of Zion, that is, the City of David. David grew stronger and stronger, and Yahweh, God of Sabaoth, was with him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This passage narrates the moment of David's investiture as king of all Israel. The northern tribes decide to ally themselves with David and propose to him to reign also over Israel. David had not rejoiced at the grief that had befallen the house of Saul, even though this paved the way for national reunification. It is not on blood that David wants to build his kingdom. The decision of the different tribes to gather around him as a single king is accepted by David because he considers it to be the God's will. David knows that it is not because of his own merits that he becomes king, but because of the very work of God who had chosen him in place of Saul, when the latter had made himself unworthy of the gift of kingship. Two events seal the establishment of David's Kingdom: the taking of the fortress of Zion, which will become the capital of the united Kingdom, and the victory over the Philistines (5:17-25). David understood the importance of the conquest: the fortress could be the place where the two kingdoms could reunite. Thus he would secure the one capital, in the centre of the land, halfway between Judah and Israel. David conquered it. And he was crowned king of the only reunited people. He was thirty years old. And Zion will be called the "city of David." David had reunited what had previously been divided. The promise made by God was thus fulfilled: "You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall over ruler of Israel." Truly the Lord "was with him."
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
