Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Samuel 1,24-28
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, as well as a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and took him into the temple of Yahweh at Shiloh; the child was very young. They sacrificed the bull and led the child to Eli. She said, 'If you please, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood beside you here, praying to Yahweh. This is the child for which I was praying, and Yahweh has granted me what I asked of him. Now I make him over to Yahweh for the whole of his life. He is made over to Yahweh.' They then worshipped Yahweh there.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Hannah's prayer gathers together the long line of the poor and weak - together with the whole of humanity - who ask for salvation. The Lord listens to the prayer of those who turn to him with faith. Hannah is heard, and she receives from God the son that she had "asked for." She called him Samuel, meaning "asked of God." Samuel is truly the child of prayer. Hannah keeps watch over him like a precious gift. That is why she lets Elkanah go on a pilgrimage to Shiloh alone. She tells her husband: "As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there for ever." It is impossible to stand in the presence of God without understanding at least a little of the mystery, without sensing that holy fear that should be felt in front of his greatness. Therefore, when the child was weaned, Hannah made the pilgrimage to Shiloh with him and went immediately to Eli. She wanted to fulfil the vow that she had made to the Lord. Aware of the great mercy that the Lord had shown her, Hannah does not keep the child for herself, but entrusts him into the Lord's hands, as she had promised. She had experienced the Lord's power, and she was certain that her son was in stronger and safer hands than hers. She repaid God's faithfulness to her ("The Lord remembered her") with loyalty to Him ("the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him). This woman stands before us as an example of a believer. In her we can see the very meaning of the covenant that the Lord established with Israel. She knows, and now we do too, that Israel's new life comes from God's own power, a power that is inexplicable and irresistible as well as strong and concrete. What is surprising is that this power is awaked and put into motion by the prayer of humble Hannah. She did not have any particular skills or pretensions, she simply persevered in prayer, accepted God's blessing, and put the fruit of her womb in God's service.
Modlitwa jest sercem życia Wspólnoty Sant’Egidio, jej pierwszym „dziełem”. Na zakończenie dnia każda Wspólnota, niezależnie czy mała czy duża, zbiera się wokół Pana, aby słuchać Jego Słowa i zanosić do Niego swe prośby. Uczniowie nie mogą uczynić więcej niż siąść u stóp Jezusa jak Maria z Betanii, aby wybrać „najlepszą cząstkę” (Łk 10, 42) i uczyć się jak mieć te same co On uczucia (por. Flp 2,1-5).
Wracając do Pana za każdym razem Wspólnota czyni własną prośbę anonimowego ucznia: "Panie, naucz nas się modlić!” (Łk 11, 1). I Jezus, nauczyciel modlitwy, nieprzerwanie odpowiada: „Kiedy się modlicie, mówcie: Ojcze nasz”.
Kiedy człowiek się modli, także w cichości własnego serca, nigdy nie jest odizolowany od innych czy opuszczony: zawsze jest członkiem rodziny Pana. W modlitwie wspólnotowej poza tajemnicą usynowienia jasno ukazuje się również tajemnica braterstwa.
Wspólnoty Sant’Egidio rozsiane po świecie zbierają się w różnych miejscach wybranych na modlitwę i przynoszą Panu nadzieje i cierpienia „znękanych i porzuconych tłumów”, o których mówi Ewangelia (por. Mt 9, 36-37). Należą do tych tłumów także mieszkańcy współczesnych miast, ubodzy zepchnięci na margines życia, wszyscy ci, którzy oczekują, że zostaną najęci choć na dzień (por. Mt 20).
Modlitwa Wspólnoty gromadzi wołania, dążenia, pragnienia pokoju, uzdrowienia, poczucia sensu i zbawienia, którymi żyją mężczyźni i kobiety tego świata. Modlitwa nigdy nie jest pusta. Nieustannie wznosi się do Pana, aby płacz zmienił się w radość, desperacja w pogodę ducha, przygnębienie w nadzieję, samotność w zjednoczenie. I aby Królestwo Boże jak najszybciej zamieszkało między ludźmi.
