Memory of Saint John, apostle and evangelist, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” who under the cross took Mary as his mother. Read more
Memory of Saint John, apostle and evangelist, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” who under the cross took Mary as his mother.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth to the people he loves.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 John 1, 1-4
Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have watched and touched with our own hands, the Word of life -- this is our theme.
That life was made visible; we saw it and are giving our testimony, declaring to you the eternal life, which was present to the Father and has been revealed to us.
We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard, so that you too may share our life. Our life is shared with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Starting today, the memorial of the Apostle John, and continuing through the liturgical season of Christmas, the Church has us read the first letter of John as the first reading of the Eucharistic liturgy. ?The author begins his letter in the same way as the fourth Gospel, with a reference to the mystery of the Word made flesh. ? John, who lived with Jesus for three years and so was a witness of his life, wants to communicate to his readers that the Gospel is not an abstract doctrine, but a concrete person: Jesus of Nazareth. ?And the faith that makes us Christians is not the acceptance of an abstract doctrine but a personal encounter with Jesus. Consequently, the apostle wants those who read his letter to have the same experience he had: he wants to help them touch Jesus and his mystery with their hands, see him with their eyes, and hear him with their ears. ? This encounter - John warns - cannot be experienced abstractly or in solitude: it is only possible if we enter into the Christian community, whose roots reach back to the apostolic witness, that is, to what the apostles saw, touched, and heard. ? John suggests that it is in listening to the Word of God, celebrating the Liturgy, and sharing their lives with their brothers and sisters that believers can experience the encounter and communion with the Father and the Son experienced by the first disciples. ?When, on the evening of Easter, Jesus told the incredulous Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 20, 29), he was outlining the way the disciples of every age would experience their faith. ?The encounter with the risen Lord comes about only in the context of the faith experience of the Christian community. ? Communion with God unequivocally passes through communion with the brothers and sisters of the community that gathers in the Lord's name. ?And once he or she has become part of the community, the believer in turn becomes a witness of Jesus' mystery to the generation of his or her age. ?It is by walking on the path traced by this living tradition of brothers and sisters that our joy will be complete and contagious. ???????????????????????
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
