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
Mark 6, 45-52
And at once he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side near Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away.
After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray.
When evening came, the boat was far out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
He could see that they were hard pressed in their rowing, for the wind was against them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the sea. He was going to pass them by,
but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost and cried out;
for they had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke to them and said, 'Courage! It's me! Don't be afraid.'
Then he got into the boat with them and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded,
because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Commenting on this Gospel page, the Fathers of the Church compared the boat in the middle of the lake to the Christian community (and of every disciple) that traverses the sea of life. Actually, it is the experience of all believers to see that the wind of this world (with its consumerist culture and egocentric mentality and the slavery to the market and hedonism at any cost) blows “contrary” to the Gospel. But yet, beyond many fallacious world promises, life’s journey, beyond the deceiving promises of the world, is never easy and even less without obstacles. This is why, facing the unavoidable difficulties, it is even easier to allow ourselves to be overcome by fear and fall into the spiral of sadness and bewilderment. In this materialistic and self-centred mentality it is even easier to think that the Gospel is an empty word, like a ghost. If the disciples thought so wouldn’t we think it even more caught as we are by our ghosts? But Jesus continues to show himself repeating, “Do not be afraid!” Yes, he repeats it even to us, disciples of the last hour and frightened by the difficulties of the time we live in. They are words that reach us with special strength. Jesus knows well our unbelief and limits. Not only does Jesus come close to and exhort us, he gets in the boat. And his loving presence promptly calms the wind. The strength of the disciples, their very peace, and their hope lie in taking Jesus with them and placing their trust in him, especially in the difficult moments of life. The Lord is not a ghost; he is the truest, strongest friend. At Christmas we have contemplated and received him as a small and helpless infant, yet very strong. Today is a wise pastor who guides us and protects us. In truth, both child and adult, Jesus reminds us that true strong power is love. And love, as it appears in the Gospel, is both as weak as a child, because it is not marked by arrogance, but it is also as strong as the One who walks on water agitated by the winds, and is able to calm them. The love of God, in his meekness and mercy, is stronger than any evil, even of those waves of death that do not cease hitting people and that seem irresistible. That child has already defeated them and with them the last wave, that of death.
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
