Memory of Saint Ambrose (+ 397), bishop of Milan. Pastor of his people, he remained strong in the face of the emperor's arrogance.
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Memory of Saint Ambrose (+ 397), bishop of Milan. Pastor of his people, he remained strong in the face of the emperor’s arrogance.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 18,12-14
'Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? In truth I tell you, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The words of the Gospel we just heard present the good shepherd, whose primary virtue is mercy. The Lord asks: "What happens when a sheep goes astray?" In truth, he wants to tell us what He does when a sheep goes astray. Jesus says that the shepherd, that is he himself and with him the disciples of every time, leaves the others and to go and search for the missing sheep until he finds it. Jesus gives no consideration to any fault of the sheep’s; he only mentions the responsibility of the shepherd. The fact that a sheep strayed, even just one, does not diminish the shepherd’s care for it; indeed, it increases it. The evangelist adds that if he happens to find it - unfortunately, the search does not always end well - "he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray." Leaving behind the parable, Jesus clarifies that the Father’s will is for none of the sheep to be lost. In fact, he sent his own Son for this very purpose, to find those who were lost. This is the deepest meaning of Christmas that we are about to celebrate. In clear opposition to the carelessness with which we treat one another, the Lord takes care of everyone, beginning with those who have strayed. God’s gaze comes to rest on each and every person, and he takes care of them all. Love of this quality, love that truly knows no limits or boundaries, is what needs to reign supreme in the life of the Christian community. This is how every disciple should care for each one of his brothers and sisters. And it is this kind of love that gives rise to the joy and festivity of fraternity. When we listen to these words of the Gospel we cannot but wonder about the quality of our love and that of our Christian communities. How many people grow weak and wander away, and no one takes care of them! Jesus, the good shepherd, calls us back to the primacy of love for others, especially for the weak and those who let themselves be overwhelmed by sin.
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
