Memorial of Lazarus of Bethany. Prayer for all those who are gravely ill and for the dying. Memorial of those who are suffering from AIDS. Read more
Memorial of Lazarus of Bethany. Prayer for all those who are gravely ill and for the dying. Memorial of those who are suffering from AIDS.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Psalm 72, 1-4.7-8.17
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
and saves the lives of the needy.
17 May his name endure for ever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Psalm 72 is the last of the prayers of David that began with psalm 2. This is how the second Book of Psalms closes: with the description of a dream. Israel is a small nation, often troubled by its neighbours and even more often badly governed by its own kings. The psalmist dreams, or better, hopes for a king who will finally rule with God’s justice and look with favour on the poor. For the Lord, justice is not the cold redistribution of possessions, but special attention for the poor: justice means that the poor live with dignity like everyone else. Throughout the whole of Scripture, justice is always tied to love and mercy, especially for the poorest. Without this special bond with the poor, it is difficult to understand the deep meaning of the biblical message. The psalmist’s prayer rises to God and asks that the king not only govern in God’s name - almost every king has claimed to do that - but according to God’s plan and God’s justice. From the beginning the psalmist prays, “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice” (v.1-2). He is certainly praying for the king to have an eternal, universal, and victorious reign: “May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute” (v.5-10). But the wisdom to rule is not passed down through a dynasty or acquired like a privilege. Only God can grant it. The psalmist has before his eyes the image of Solomon, who, from the moment he was elected king, asked God to give him the wisdom to rule. This is why the psalmist prays for the king, but also - and more importantly - asks God for a king according to his plan. His words prefigure the coming of the Messiah-king, the one sent by God to establish a kingdom of peace and justice. The words of Isaiah can already be seen in them: “Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. The wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.” (32:16-17, 15)
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
