Memorial of blessed Giuseppe Puglisi, priest of the Church of Palermo, who was killed by mafia in 1993. Többet
Memorial of blessed Giuseppe Puglisi, priest of the Church of Palermo, who was killed by mafia in 1993.
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
Ephesians 3,2-12
You have surely heard the way in which God entrusted me with the grace he gave me for your sake; he made known to me by a revelation the mystery I have just described briefly- a reading of it will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. This mystery, as it is now revealed in the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, was unknown to humanity in previous generations: that the gentiles now have the same inheritance and form the same Body and enjoy the same promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I have been made the servant of that gospel by a gift of grace from God who gave it to me by the workings of his power. I, who am less than the least of all God's holy people, have been entrusted with this special grace, of proclaiming to the gentiles the unfathomable treasure of Christ and of throwing light on the inner workings of the mystery kept hidden through all the ages in God, the Creator of everything. The purpose of this was, that now, through the Church, the principalities and ruling forces should learn how many-sided God's wisdom is, according to the plan which he had formed from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him;
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The grand plan of God for humanity, namely the unity of all peoples and their access to the Father, is the horizon in which Paul places his mission: "I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles." The Apostle emphasizes the link with Christ who chose him and sent him to the Gentiles, that is, to all those who do not belong to the people of Israel. Paul feels like a "prisoner" of this mission, in the sense that he lives this mission in total dependence on the Lord. He is certainly an apostle like the others (see Eph 2:20), but more than the others, he deserves the title "apostle to the nations." Paul is aware of the greatness of his mission, that of being made a "servant of the Gospel." This is not a matter of personal pride; he is well aware of what life he was pulled from and for what mission he has been chosen. Paul emphasizes his smallness to highlight the greatness of the vocation he received, to communicate "the boundless riches of Christ." This "mystery" made manifest in him is inaccessible to natural experience. Only God reveals it. For Paul it was an overwhelming spiritual experience, a light that penetrated deep into his heart and enabled him in turn to illuminate men and women (see 2Cor 4:6). In Paul's experience we can identify the charismatic dimension of the Church that is still present today, with various modes, different from each other. We are all called to unite ourselves to Christ and become one "new person", i.e. a single family of all peoples. And the Church is the instrument by which Christ wants to bring reconciliation among the peoples of the world. Her internal unity is the leaven of unity among peoples. It is the intention for which Jesus himself prayed: "That they may all be one, ...so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21). The community of believers becomes a mediator of the new relationship that God has established through Jesus with all humanity. It is a daunting and difficult task. Hence, Paul invites us not to be discouraged. The tribulations of this task are the sign of a new birth, of the generation of a new humanity.
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!
