Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 1, 46-56
And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love
-according to the promise he made to our ancestors -- of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.
Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In the meeting with her cousin Elizabeth - as we heard yesterday in the Gospel- Mary was greeted with the first bliss that appears in the Gospel: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord." The fact that the first bliss is linked to the listening to the Word of God certainly forces us to think. However, we always have to remember that the listening to the Gospel is not without problems, disturbances, and worries. Rather, it is proper to such listening that we question ourselves, that we question our own life. The evangelist has already noted that at the time of the Annunciation Mary was "perplexed" at the angel's words. This means that those words caused an intense reaction in Mary’s inner being. Nevertheless, she continued to listen to the angel, and the initial "perplexity" was transformed into the joy of those who feel safe in the hands of God. Mary became the first disciple of the Gospel and the first to sing the joy of what had happened to her. The singing of the Magnificat, in the plot of its verses, collects the happiness of "the poor of Jahveh," those, who have put their whole lives in the hands of the Lord, and those who expect everything from him. Mary bursts into a hymn of praise to God that originates in the depth of her soul because the Lord of the heaven and the earth has bowed His gaze to her, a poor and weak creature. Mary does not hide her modesty and her poverty. We, in contrast, demand attention and consideration! Mary realizes that all that she is experiencing is an extraordinary gift of the Lord; the same Lord, who has liberated Israel from slavery in Egypt, who has protected the poor, who has humiliated the haughty, who has satiated the hungry with good things. The same Lord, who bowed over her and loved her so much to make her the Mother of His Son. She accepted the Lord in her heart with trembling and great joy, and she made the Lord the purpose of her own life. From that day on, through Mary, God has made his home among men and women. She is the first true "manger," the first place where the Word became flesh. And through her, the Lord has shown us the way that the believers have to follow.
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
