The Jews celebrate Yom Kippur (Day of Expiation) Lees meer
The Jews celebrate Yom Kippur (Day of Expiation)
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 7,11-17
It happened that soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. Now when he was near the gate of the town there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople was with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, 'Don't cry.' Then he went up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, 'Young man, I tell you: get up.' And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and glorified God saying, 'A great prophet has risen up among us; God has visited his people.' And this view of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
A young manthe only son of a widowdies. The mother's life breaks. Every thread of hope seems to be cut off forever. Nothing is possible for the son or the mother--only to bury one and accompany the other, consoling her pain. Seeing the sad funeral procession leaving the gate of the city of Nain to go to the cemetery, Jesus is moved for this mother. The evangelist notes that Jesus "had compassion for her." In seeing Jesus who comes closer to that mother, the crowd stops. Jesus tells her immediately not to cry, and then he says to the dead boy: "Young man, I say to you, rise!" Jesus speaks to him as if he were alive. And that young man seems to hear the voice of Jesus and gets up and speaks. The Gospel word is always effective. So many are the youth today who live as if they were dead, that is, without hope for their futures. Hope in a better world has been stolen from them. For them society is very often like a bad mother and father. They find themselves alone and disoriented in a world without a future. And they wait for someone to stop next to them and turn to them directly and say: "Young man, I say to you, rise!" The Gospel helps us to hope and work for them. The youth need someone to stop next to them, who will touch them as Jesus did with that young man and who knows how to address them with true, authoritative and strong words, words that are full of hope. If the words flow from a heart full of feeling, like that of Jesus, young people will know how to listen to them. It is from this strong and bold compassion that the words will flow also for us, words that give back hope to today's youth.
Het gebed is het hart van het leven van de Gemeenschap van Sant’Egidio. Het is haar eerste “werk”. Aan het einde van de dag komt elke Gemeenschap, of die nu klein of groot is, samen bij de Heer om het Woord te beluisteren en zich tot Hem te richten in het gebed. De leerlingen kunnen niet anders dan aan de voeten van Jezus zitten, zoals Maria van Bethanië, om het “betere deel” te kiezen (Lc 10, 42) en van Hem zijn gezindheid te leren (vgl. Fil 2, 5).
Elke keer dat de Gemeenschap zich tot de Heer richt, maakt ze zich die vraag eigen van de anonieme leerling: “Heer, leer ons bidden!” (Lc 11, 1). En Jezus, meester in het gebed, antwoordt: “Wanneer jullie bidden, zeg dan: Abba, Vader”.
Wanneer we bidden, ook in de geslotenheid van ons eigen hart, zijn we nooit alleen of verweesd. Integendeel, we zijn leden van de familie van de Heer. In het gemeenschappelijk gebed wordt naast het mysterie van het kindschap, ook dat van de broederschap en zusterschap duidelijk.
De Gemeenschappen van Sant’Egidio, verspreid over de wereld, verzamelen zich op de verschillende plaatsen die gekozen zijn voor het gebed en brengen de hoop en het verdriet van de “uitgeputte en hulpeloze mensenmenigte” waarover het Evangelie spreekt (Mt 9, 37) bij de Heer. Deze oude menigte omvat de inwoners van onze hedendaagse steden, de armen die zich bevinden in de marge van het leven, en iedereen die wacht om als dagloner te worden aangenomen (vgl. Mt 20).
Het gemeenschappelijk gebed verzamelt de schreeuw, de hoop, het verlangen naar vrede, genezing, zin en redding, die beleefd worden door de mannen en vrouwen van deze wereld. Het gebed is nooit leeg. Het stijgt onophoudelijk op naar de Heer opdat verdriet verandert in vreugde, wanhoop in blijheid, angst in hoop, eenzaamheid in gemeenschap. En het rijk Gods zal spoedig temidden van de mensen komen.
