Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Timothy 6, 13-16
Now, before God, the source of all life, and before Jesus Christ, who witnessed to his noble profession of faith before Pontius Pilate, I charge you
to do all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no human being has seen or is able to see: to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle addresses Timothy calling him "man of God", to underline his belonging to God and not to himself, as he had devoted his life to the service of God. Christians can’t serve two masters: they must choose God as their only Lord, as Timothy did. Like in a competition, Timothy must look at the final goal of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness--the perfection of the inner life with all the human and Christian virtues. Christian life is compared to a competition of devotion. The trophy is the eternal life. Paul says to Timothy that God in His great mercy called him to lead this life and Timothy made his noble confession in the presence of many witnesses: probably Paul refers to his Baptism, or to his presbyterial consecration. Every Christian person is called to take part to this competition, like Timothy-- with generosity. Paul once again charges Timothy before God, who gives life, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate and gave his life on the cross to show his love, to keep the commandments faithfully, until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ in the final Judgement. Christ’s appearance is meant as an epiphany, the full manifestation of love. Every Christian person should behave according to the evangelical teaching, with a faithful devotion, as a primary and important task. We do not know when our Lord Jesus Christ will appear. Only God knows "the right time." Yet, we are called to be vigilant in our faith, and generous in love. The encouragement of the apostle reaches its peak in a hymn to God: He is above transience; he dwells in unapproachable light. Our mind cannot understand, but the prayer makes us closer to Him so that we can experience His power and love.
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
