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
Isaiah 2, 1-5
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
It will happen in the final days that the mountain of Yahweh's house will rise higher than the mountains and tower above the heights. Then all the nations will stream to it,
many peoples will come to it and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.' For the Law will issue from Zion and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
Then he will judge between the nations and arbitrate between many peoples. They will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, no longer will they learn how to make war.
House of Jacob, come, let us walk in Yahweh's light.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
From the first day of Advent until the second Wednesday, the first reading for the daily Liturgy is taken from the prophet Isaiah. The intention of the Liturgy is that the words of the prophet help us contemplate the new time the Messiah is coming to inaugurate. Isaiah lived in a period of conflict, as can be seen clearly in chapter 7 and chapters 30 and 31 of the book. But he is impelled by the Lord not to give in: not to yield to the terrible logic of war, the custom of unjust alliances, or even the search for personal well being at any cost. Even though in other places he invites his readers to have faith in God's protection, he now reveals the future that awaits the people of Israel. It is a vision of peace, totally unexpected in a time marked by conflict, when the people are enmeshed in a selfish and violent way of thinking. The Liturgy of the Church, starting with the first day of Advent, shows what will happen at the “end of days”. At that time, says the prophet, “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains... all the nations shall stream to it.” It is a vision of the universality of salvation; no one is excluded. All peoples will be attracted to this vision- not forced but, in fact, attracted - by the power of wisdom that emanates from the Lord. The prophet says: “For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” This wisdom will transform the hearts of the people and of the nations that listen to it, and will usher in a time of universal peace: “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks.” While we take our first steps into Advent, the prophet is not only giving us a vision of the salvation Jesus will bring to humanity, but he is also stressing that any one who accepts this vision can begin living it even now. Therefore, as we take the first steps towards Christmas, we can already taste at least a little of what we will later live fully.
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
