The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Czytaj więcej
The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
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
2 Corinthians 6,1-10
As his fellow-workers, we urge you not to let your acceptance of his grace come to nothing. As he said, 'At the time of my favour I have answered you; on the day of salvation I have helped you'; well, now is the real time of favour, now the day of salvation is here. We avoid putting obstacles in anyone's way, so that no blame may attach to our work of service; but in everything we prove ourselves authentic servants of God; by resolute perseverance in times of hardships, difficulties and distress; when we are flogged or sent to prison or mobbed; labouring, sleepless, starving; in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness; in the Holy Spirit, in a love free of affectation; in the word of truth and in the power of God; by using the weapons of uprightness for attack and for defence: in times of honour or disgrace, blame or praise; taken for impostors and yet we are genuine; unknown and yet we are acknowledged; dying, and yet here we are, alive; scourged but not executed; in pain yet always full of joy; poor and yet making many people rich; having nothing, and yet owning everything.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle is worried for himself and his reputation. What he cares about is that he is received by the Corinthians as one sent by the Lord. This is the reason of his exhortation: "We urge you not to accept the grace of God in vain" (v.1). The favourable moment is now. He has faced innumerable difficulties in order not to fail his apostolic ministry: beatings, imprisonment, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger. ...None of them has moved him away from the mission of preaching the Gospel. On the contrary, filled with feelings of purity, wisdom, patience, kindness, holiness, sincere love, he has not ceased to preach the Gospel and to serve the community. The Word which the Lord had entrusted to him was his strength, his support. We could say that the disciples of Jesus, poor of external goods, have an inner wealth that, while they communicate it, sustains them; even more, in communicating it they become more generous and strong. Paul reminds those Christians: "We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you" (v.11). But the width of the heart of the apostle is matched by the narrowness of that of the Corinthians: "There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours" (v.12). The narrowness of heart of the Corinthians embitters the apostle because it prevents him from extending to them the good food of the Gospel preaching. And, with the love of a father ("I speak as to children"), he tells them, "Open wide your hearts also." It is the condition for receiving the Gospel. Otherwise you fall under the foreign yoke of "unbelievers" (v.14), i.e. the egocentric mentality of the world. There can be no compromise between "Christ and Beliar," that is between Christ and Satan. The yoke of the latter is a burden that crushes, while the yoke of the Gospel is "easy" (Mt 11:30). And whoever accepts it becomes a "temple of God", that is, a witness of the love and mercy of the Lord.
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.
