Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Ecclesiastes 4,13-16
Better a youngster poor and wise than a monarch old and silly who will no longer take advice-
even though stepping from prison to the throne, even though born a beggar in that kingdom.
I observe that all who live and move under the sun support the young newcomer who takes over.
He takes his place at the head of innumerable subjects; but his successors will not think the more kindly of him for that. This too is futile and chasing after the wind.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
This last part of the fourth chapter, wholly devoted to the examination of social life, analyses political power. Qohelet concocts a parable to which he gives universal symbolic value. He takes the example of the young man, poor but sharp, who leaves prison and becomes king, while the old king, in his foolishness, takes no one’s advice. It was thought that old age brought wisdom with it. Here we see an old king who only acts and does not listen to any advice. That young man, moreover, of humble origins, perhaps even imprisoned by the same king, is freed from prison and proclaimed king by the crowds. But this same youth is easily liable to himself, becoming corrupt and losing the favour of the people. And another one is put in his place by the same crowd who had acclaimed him. One king succeeds another, each one different, one old and foolish, another one who usurps the power of the prior one; they each obtain their tribute of glory. But the crowds are quick to change opinion and feelings. One, therefore, cannot say that power goes to the wise, nor that the crowds acclaim only the clever and honest. People’s volubility allows the triumph, be it only momentarily, of any regime whatever. Even the revolutionaries are "hebel," a breath of wind.
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
