Memory of Modesta, a homeless woman refused medical assistance because she was dirty and was left to die in the Termini train station in Rome. Along with her we remember all those without a home who have died. Read more
Memory of Modesta, a homeless woman refused medical assistance because she was dirty and was left to die in the Termini train station in Rome. Along with her we remember all those without a home who have died.
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
Proverbs 11, 20-31
Tortuous hearts are abhorrent to Yahweh, dear to him, those whose ways are blameless.
Be sure of it, the wicked will not go unpunished, but the race of the upright will come to no harm.
A golden ring in the snout of a pig is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.
The hope of the upright is nothing but good, the expectation of the wicked is retribution.
One scatters money around, yet only adds to his wealth, another is excessively mean, but only grows the poorer.
The soul who blesses will prosper, whoever satisfies others will also be satisfied.
The people's curse is on those who hoard the wheat, their blessing on the head of those who sell it.
Whoever strives for good obtains favour, whoever looks for evil will get an evil return.
Whoever trusts in riches will have a fall, the upright will flourish like the leaves.
Whoever misgoverns a house inherits the wind, and the fool becomes slave to the wise.
The fruit of the upright is a tree of life: the sage captivates souls.
If here on earth the upright gets due reward, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The question about why the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer, accompanies the story of Job and the reflections of the book of Wisdom. But there is already a simple answer here, a guarantee for those who do good: "Crooked minds are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight. Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will escape." The Lord protects the lives of the righteous, while the lives of those who do evil will be ruined. While the righteous only desire good, the wicked desire anger. It is strange that the text always connects anger with the wicked. We need to reflect on this proverb, because anger can lead us to do evil without noticing it. And how often do we lose our tempers in daily life, in general to defend ourselves or our way of thinking. There is such a thing as righteous indignation, which is what God often expresses in the Bible in front of human sin and injustice towards the poor. This wrath is quite different from the anger that characterizes the lives of our societies. In verses 24-29 the text returns to the theme of wealth, inviting us to use it generously: "Some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want. A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water." Sometimes we are afraid of giving, and while we live, we greedily and jealously hold on to what we have. There is a real dictatorship of materialism that keeps us from living generously. And yet we know that there is more joy in giving than in receiving. Proverbs admonishes us and shows us that the way of generosity leads to life: "Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves." The righteous know that the world is unjust and so know that they have to put their wealth at the service of others. May our righteousness be a tree of life for many, like the great tree under which the many poor of the world can find refuge. May our wisdom, fruit of our faithful listening to the word of God, conquer hearts for 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
