Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. Memorial of Filomena, an elderly woman from Trastevere in Rome who died in a nursing home in 1976. With her we remember all the elderly, especially those who are alone and those who live in nursing homes. Lees meer
Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. Memorial of Filomena, an elderly woman from Trastevere in Rome who died in a nursing home in 1976. With her we remember all the elderly, especially those who are alone and those who live in nursing homes.
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
Isaiah 40,25-31
'To whom can you compare me, or who is my equal?' says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look: he who created these things leads out their army in order, summoning each of them by name. So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one fails to answer. How can you say, Jacob, how can you repeat, Israel, 'My way is hidden from Yahweh, my rights are ignored by my God'? Did you not know? Had you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, he created the remotest parts of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding is beyond fathoming. He gives strength to the weary, he strengthens the powerless. Youths grow tired and weary, the young stumble and fall, but those who hope in Yahweh will regain their strength, they will sprout wings like eagles, though they run they will not grow weary, though they walk they will never tire.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Often in life we lose sight of the truth about ourselves: pride blinds us and keeps us from seeing the condition of weakness in which we all live. And yet we never stop letting ourselves be guided by pride. Referring to nations, the prophet writes, "Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales." If that is true about nations, how much more is it true for us? The words of the prophet invite us to meditate on the greatness and strength of the Lord, to lift our eyes from ourselves in order to see God's works of love, which are manifested in the lives of each one of us and in the entire world. Looking away from ourselves frees us from chasing the idols we think can give us security and comfort. And we must not forget that the first "idol" we are all tempted to worship is our ego. Some speak of an "ego-latry": the cult of the self and self-affirmation, on whose altar we sacrifice everything. With a biting series of questions, the prophet instead awakens our sense of God and his grandeur. The Lord alone is great, and he alone governs the world: "It is he who sits above the circle of the earth... who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing...scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble." Those who rely on the Lord receive help and comfort, support and strength. Young and old, we are all urged to trust only in the Lord: "But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." God, the creator, is our support and our help. Let us not despair amidst the toil of life, but let us trust in the Lord, and we will regain the strength to walk quickly in his presence.
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.
