Feast of the Apostle Bartholomew of Canaa of Galilee. His body is kept in the church of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island, in Rome, which has become the memorial place for the "New Martyrs." Remembrance of Jerry Essan Masslo, a South African refugee who came to Italy and was welcomed by the Community of Sant'Egidio. He was killed by robbers in 1989. With him we remember all refugees. Baca lebih lanjut
Feast of the Apostle Bartholomew of Canaa of Galilee. His body is kept in the church of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island, in Rome, which has become the memorial place for the "New Martyrs." Remembrance of Jerry Essan Masslo, a South African refugee who came to Italy and was welcomed by the Community of Sant'Egidio. He was killed by robbers in 1989. With him we remember all refugees.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 1,45-51
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' Nathanael said to him, 'From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?' Philip replied, 'Come and see.' When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.' Nathanael asked, 'How do you know me?' Jesus replied, 'Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.' Nathanael answered, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.' Jesus replied, 'You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You are going to see greater things than that.' And then he added, 'In all truth I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of man.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today we celebrate the feast of the apostle St. Bartholomew. His body rests in the Roman Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island which became the memorial place of the New Martyrs of the 20th and 21st century in care of the Community of Sant'Egidio. In the church the memory of the apostle is kept with the memory of many witnesses of faith who in every part of the world continue to give their lives for the Gospel. Tradition has it that Bartholomew went and preached the Gospel in Armenia after Pentecost, crossing the lands of Syria and present Iraq, which are still marked by the suffering of many Christians persecuted for the sake of their faith. We then understand the words that Jesus addressed to Bartholomew (which tradition identifies with Nathanael in the first chapter of John): "You will see greater things than these!" There is always a greater love that the Lord teaches us and shows us, offering his very life first; and we are witnesses of this love. It is a testimony that is communicated from heart to heart. Philip reports to Nathanael that he had found "him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." Nathanael replied with a heavy prejudice "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
It is a prejudice against everything that comes from outside, that does not speak of me, that does not put my "I" at the centre of everything. In fact, we too often experience prejudices, we prefer to remain attached to our visions of life, to our knowledge, and with difficulty we open ourselves to the greatest vision and design of God. When Jesus sees Nathanael approaching, he exclaims: "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." Nathanael-Bartholomew is touched in his heart; he feels loved and understood by these words and recognizes Jesus as the Lord of life and history. This confession will lead him to follow Jesus throughout his life. When we listen to the Word and entrust ourselves to it, we become witnesses of a greater life and of that vision of an open heaven above the earth from which angels ascend and descend to accompany men and women.
Doa merupakan jantung kehidupan Komunitas Sant'Egidio dan merupakan prioritas yang paling penting. Di penghujung hari, setiap Komunitas Sant'Egidio, besar maupun kecil, akan berkumpul di sekeliling Tuhan untuk mendengarkan sabda-Nya. Sesungguhnya Sabda Allah dan doa merupakan landasan seluruh kehidupan Komunitas. Para rasul tidak bisa tidak selain tetap di sekitar kaki Yesus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Maria dari Bethani, untuk menerima kasih dan belajar cara-Nya (Fil. 2:5).
Sehingga setiap malam, ketika Komunitas kembali ke kaki Tuhan, Komunitas mengulangi kata-kata dari rasul tak bernama: "Tuhan ajarkanlah kami cara berdoa" Yesus, Sang Guru, terus menjawab: "Ketika kamu berdoa, katakanlah: Abba, Bapa". Hal itu bukanlah satu seruan sederhana. Dengan kata-kata ini, Yesus membiarkan para murid untuk berperan serta dalam hubungan mereka sendiri dengan Bapa. Oleh sebab itu, fakta bahwa sebagai anak-anak Bapa yang bertahta di surga, muncul sebelum kata-kata yang mungkin kita ucapkan. Jadi doa di atas segalanya merupakan cara untuk menjadi manusia. Ini untuk mengatakan bahwa kita anak-anak yang berpaling kepada Bapa dengan iman, dan yakin bahwa hal itu akan didengar.
Yesus mengajar kita memanggil Allah dengan sebutan "Bapa Kami" Tidak hanya "Bapa" atau "Bapaku" Para murid, meskipun mereka berdoa dengan cara mereka, tidak pernah terisolasi tidak juga menjadi yatim; mereka selalu menjadi anggota keluarga Tuhan.
Dalam doa bersama, di samping misteri anak Allah, ada juga misteri persaudaraan, seperti Bapa Gereja mengatakan: "Kamu tidak bisa memiliki Allah sebagai Bapa tanpa memiliki gereja sebagai ibu". Ketika berdoa bersama, Roh Kudus menyatukan para rasul di ruangan atas bersama dengan Maria, Bunda Allah, sehingga mereka dapat memusatkan pandangan mereka kepada wajah Tuhan dan belajar dari Dia rahasia hati-Nya.
Komunitas Sant'Egidio di seluruh dunia berkumpul bersama di berbagai tempat doa dan menghamparkan di hadapan Tuhan harapan dan penderitaan manusia yang lelah dan letih seperti yang di katakan oleh Injil (Mat. 9:37). Dalam kumpulan di masa lalu ini kita bisa melihat jumlah massa yang sangat besar di kota-kota modern ini, jutaan pengungsi yang terus melarikan diri dari negeri mereka, orang miskin yang terpinggirkan ke tepi kehidupan dan mereka yang menantikan seseorang yang akan merawat mereka. Berdoa bersama termasuk di dalamnya tangisan, seruan, permohonan, keinginan bagi damai, penyembuhan dan penebusan manusia di dunia ini. Doa tidak pernah sia-sia, doa terus menerus kepada Tuhan sehingga mengubah kecemasan menjadi harapan, air mata menjadi kegembiraan, putus asa menjadi kebahagiaan, dan kesepian menjadi persatuan. Semoga Kerajaan Allah hadir segera di antara manusia.
