Memory of St. Athanasius (295-373), bishop of Alexandria in Egypt. Read more
Memory of St. Athanasius (295-373), bishop of Alexandria in Egypt.
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
Philippians 1, 27-30
But you must always behave in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to you and see for myself or whether I only hear all about you from a distance, I shall find that you are standing firm and united in spirit, battling, as a team with a single aim, for the faith of the gospel,
undismayed by any of your opponents. This will be a clear sign, for them that they are to be lost, and for you that you are to be saved.
This comes from God, for you have been granted the privilege for Christ's sake not only of believing in him but of suffering for him as well;
you are fighting the same battle which you saw me fighting for him and which you hear I am fighting still.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul is aware that evil in the world can intimidate the disciples of the Lord. He himself experienced violence in the past and he continues to face violence while he is writing this letter, indeed he is in prison. He exhorts the Christians of Philippi, however, to not let themselves be intimidated by difficulties or by those who want to put obstacles in front of the path of community of believers. He writes to them: “live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ”. Jesus’ disciples, indeed, are by now “citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19). The apostle wants to say that the “we” of the family of God makes Jesus’ disciples firm in the Gospel. No one can be a disciple alone. Faith in Jesus is never an individual enterprise. Encountering Jesus happens within the community of disciples, and in any event it places us in the community. And it is the communion in faith that gives strength to the disciples to communicate the Gospel to the world. This task, the apostle adds, is a struggle and entails suffering. It was that way for Jesus; it is this way for Paul and it will be this way for the disciples of every era. A certainty, however, dwells in the heart of the believers: God does not abandon his children. Convinced of the struggle that Christians must take up in the course of their earthly existence, the apostle writes to the Christians of Ephesus: “Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (6:13). By putting on the armour of love and of the zeal “to proclaim the gospel” (Eph 6:15) we will find the joy of being in the company of God and brothers and sisters, even if, as Paul writes in his letter, there will be no lack of difficulties.
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
