The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
For the Jews today is Shavuot (Pentecost).
Többet
The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
For the Jews today is Shavuot (Pentecost).
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
John 16,29-33
His disciples said, 'Now you are speaking plainly and not using veiled language. Now we see that you know everything and need not wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God.' Jesus answered them: Do you believe at last? Listen; the time will come -- indeed it has come already -- when you are going to be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus has just summarized his mission: "I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father" It is his story that he describes in few words: coming from the Father and going back to Him with the redeemed humanity. The disciples assume that they already understand everything. Jesus, in fact, opened his heart to them, revealing the beauty of his life with the Father and offering it to them in turn. They believe that they already possess it. It is the superficiality of those who think faith is just a simple question of understanding formulas or observing rites and rules. Jesus continues to speak to them to help them grow in the knowledge of his mystery and love of God. He does not leave his disciples at the mercy of their pride and presumption that they have finally managed to understand the Gospel. He shows them their weakness, the fragility of their faith: "Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me." They are very bitter words for Jesus, and yet he does not abandon them. Rather he leads them back to realize their true dimension. Dispersion is a clear consequence of the distrust in Jesus and his power. In the Garden of Olive Trees these words will become true to the letter: they will all flee, even the most friends. Only the Father will stay close to him. Jesus knows it. During his passion, the Father will be his only refuge. It is this faith that will make Jesus cry on the cross: "Why have you forsaken me?" It is a dramatic prayer that reveals his faith in the Father. He is the true peace for Jesus. And he wants this to be true also for his disciples. Their peace, our peace is in Jesus: "I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace." And peace will be the first gift that the risen Jesus will give to the disciples shut close in the upper room. The bond with Jesus is peace for all the disciples of then and today. The disciples will suffer from persecutions too like Jesus, but they should not be afraid: "I have conquered the world!" Jesus reassures us too.
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!
