Memory of Saint Nil, Russian staretz ( 1508). He was the father of monks to whom he taught the Lord's great love for humanity, exhorting them to ask God for His own feelings (macrotimia in Greek). Memory of the prayer for the new martyrs presided over by John Paul II at the Coliseum in Rome with the representatives of Christian churches. Read more
Memory of Saint Nil, Russian staretz ( 1508). He was the father of monks to whom he taught the Lord’s great love for humanity, exhorting them to ask God for His own feelings (macrotimia in Greek). Memory of the prayer for the new martyrs presided over by John Paul II at the Coliseum in Rome with the representatives of Christian churches.
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
Philippians 4, 4-9
Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful.
Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near.
Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude,
and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, let your minds be filled with everything that is true, everything that is honourable, everything that is upright and pure, everything that we love and admire -- with whatever is good and praiseworthy.
Keep doing everything you learnt from me and were told by me and have heard or seen me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul does not reserve words when exhorting the community of Philippi to rejoice: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Knowing the difficulties that both Paul and the community were living through, we could marvel at his insistence on rejoicing. And yet, it is joy that liberates the heart from self-love and opens it to “gentleness” toward all. The motive for joy, indeed, resides in the certainty that: “The Lord is near.” This nearness is not only the reason for the disciples’ joy, it is also the strength that allows them to change their hearts and conquer the sadness that envelops the world. But, how is it possible not to be anxious facing a life that is often difficult? How can we not be saddened by the weakness of our body and the feebleness of our feelings? The joy of Jesus’ nearness opens the doors to ceaseless prayer. Paul invites us to present to God every one of our requests to find that peace that the world does not know how to give. This is why prayer needs to be at the centre of the life of every believer and community. From prayer arise new feelings and thoughts that are “honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable.” And, in prayer, with renewed hearts and renewed thoughts, let us praise God and make peaceful the life of the world. “The God of peace will be with you,” the apostle affirms.
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
