Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Proverbs 23, 1-14
If you take your seat at a great man's table, take careful note of what you have before you;
if you have a big appetite put a knife to your throat.
Do not hanker for his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
Do not wear yourself out in quest of wealth, stop applying your mind to this.
Fix your gaze on it, and it is there no longer, for it is able to sprout wings like an eagle that flies off to the sky.
Do not eat the food of anyone whose eye is jealous, do not hanker for his delicacies.
For what he is really thinking about is himself: 'Eat and drink,' he tells you, but his heart is not with you.
You will spit out whatever you have eaten and find your compliments wasted.
Do not waste words on a fool, who will not appreciate the shrewdness of your remarks.
Do not displace the ancient boundary-stone, or encroach on orphans' lands,
for they have a powerful avenger, and he will take up their cause against you.
Apply your heart to discipline, and your ears to instructive sayings.
Do not be chary of correcting a child, a stroke of the cane is not likely to be fatal.
Give him a stroke of the cane, you will save his soul from Sheol.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This passage reports a series of proverbs that invite us to moderation and practice of justice. The author is confronted with the attraction of a rich society. Indeed, who does not wish to live in abundance and prosperity? Our materialistic society, too asserts the culture of riches and money in such a way that everyone is ready to do anything to obtain them. Moreover, unlimited possessions in turn justify transgressing the law and the principles of justice that are intended to protect the needy and poor. We live in a true dictatorship of materialism. The text, however, admonishes that the delicacies of the rich are deceptive. Happiness does not come from materialistic self-fulfilment because riches come and go rapidly, without our even realizing it: "When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle towards heaven." If the greedy rich person wants you to involve you in something, be careful as he thinks only of himself. Verse 9 moves from an admonishment of the fool to two situations which Proverbs frequently addresses: the defence of the orphan and the discipline of children. The text begins with a concrete situation that addresses the issue of land ownership. The context of the passage puts us in an agrarian society that prizes land ownership because it signifies self-sufficiency and survival. For this reason, the text invites people not to change the boundaries of the fields of orphans because from them they are sustained. In such cases, God intervenes as the defender of orphans and widows and as the one who renders justice for the poor (Ps. 146). Significantly, the text calls us not to be deceived by wealth that tempts one to steal property from orphans, as that is an act of grave injustice. Greed creates injustice because the only goal of the greedy person, who "only thinks of himself," is to increase his own assets and goods. The text concludes with a constant concern of the Book of Proverbs: namely, a call to disciplining children because correction enables the youth to grow. In a society of orphans, where people follow and listen only to themselves for guidance and do not have anyone to listen to and follow and where false ideas of liberty and self-determination reign, we all need fathers to whom we can turn. Let us accept correction so that we will grow in faith, wisdom and humanity. The disciples of Jesus will always find in the mother Church someone ready to help and correct them.
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
