Memory of Oscar Arnulfo Romero, archbishop of San Salvador. He was killed on March 24, 1980 on the altar. Memory of the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine that took place in Rome in 1944, in which the Nazis killed 335 people. Read more
Memory of Oscar Arnulfo Romero, archbishop of San Salvador. He was killed on March 24, 1980 on the altar. Memory of the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine that took place in Rome in 1944, in which the Nazis killed 335 people.
Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
1 Timothy 6, 17-19
Instruct those who are rich in this world's goods that they should not be proud and should set their hopes not on money, which is untrustworthy, but on God who gives us richly all that we need for our happiness.
They are to do good and be rich in good works, generous in giving and always ready to share-
this is the way they can amass a good capital sum for the future if they want to possess the only life that is real.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
After praising God, Paul adds a footnote in which he gives Timothy instructions concerning the rich people in the community. He has already put Timothy on guard against the desire for wealth (6:9-10). Now he is giving instructions on the correct use of wealth. The apostle warns that even wealth gained by legitimate means can be full of dangers for those who possess it. And he warns Timothy not to put his hope in wealth because it is always "uncertain." Hope is only solid when set in God. Wealth is given so that all may enjoy it and that the poor may be helped. Christians should only put their trust in the paternal goodness of God, who gives his children everything they need. This is why Jesus can admonish the disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear... for it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (Mt 6:25-32). The rich should not selfishly close up at the sight of their neighbour’s need. They are called to make their love for those who are poorer more concrete. The wealthy Christian should know that true wealth consists in being rich with good works; they will be "the treasure of a good foundation" for him. By doing good works, a Christian becomes "rich toward God" (Lk 12:21) and stores up "treasures in heaven" (Mt 6:20) and the Father "who sees in secret will reward him" (Mt 6:4). In the last two verses, Paul summarizes once again the two central exhortations of the letter: to preserve the Christian faith and to guard it strongly against heresy so that the community may not be divided. Timothy’s primary responsibility and his mission are to keep the Gospel pure and whole. And the Gospel is quite different from the "chatter" of human "knowledge." Knowledge is good, but not for salvation. Only the Word illuminates and guides our steps towards heaven. At the end of the letter Paul says farewell to Timothy and the entire community, about whom he thinks incessantly, and he asks God to give them all the grace that "brings salvation."
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
