Memorial of Saint Romuald (†1027), anchorite and father of Camaldolensis monks. Többet
Memorial of Saint Romuald (†1027), anchorite and father of Camaldolensis monks.
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
2 Corinthians 9,6-11
But remember: anyone who sows sparsely will reap sparsely as well -- and anyone who sows generously will reap generously as well. Each one should give as much as he has decided on his own initiative, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God is perfectly able to enrich you with every grace, so that you always have enough for every conceivable need, and your resources overflow in all kinds of good work. As scripture says: To the needy he gave without stint, his uprightness stands firm for ever. The one who so freely provides seed for the sower and food to eat will provide you with ample store of seed for sowing and make the harvest of your uprightness a bigger one: you will be rich enough in every way for every kind of generosity that makes people thank God for what we have done.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
With this passage, the space reserved by the apostle to the collection for the Jerusalem community ends. The collection takes two chapters and Paul closes them insisting on the generosity in giving and the joy in doing so. A tight-fisted measure is a sign of a heart full of oneself, of men and women who are afraid of losing what they have. But in so doing, they will definitely turn away from the Gospel. In Deuteronomy the author already wrote about the needy brother: "Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so" (15:10). And the psalmist that Paul mentions sings: "He has distributed, he gave to the poor; his righteousness remains in eternal "(v.9). Generosity and joy in giving that characterize Christian solidarity, free our heart from the bondage of possession and make it more consistent with that of Jesus, who "did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself" (Phil 2, 6-7), as Paul wrote to the Philippians. Generosity enriches the giver because the grace of God and the prayers of those who receive return upon him or her. It is a common belief among the Fathers of the Church that the poor will be our intercessors with God. Alms, which we throw into their hands, become a treasure for us in heaven. Yes, what we give to the poor returns to us in heaven in the hands of God. This is why the apostle suggests that the collection is a sacred service offered to God himself. Indeed it is not simply an act of solidarity and sharing, but a response to the grace of God, from whom we received everything. Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Lk 6:38). We are not afraid to give generously and joyfully, because in giving we will find the reward of God's grace. The Lord has given us his gifts not that we may keep them for ourselves, but that we may donate them generously to the delight of all, especially 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!
