Memory of the holy prophet David to whom some of the psalms are attributed. For centuries the psalms have nourished the prayer both of Jews and Christians. Memory of Thomas Becket, defender of justice and of the dignity of the Church. Read more
Memory of the holy prophet David to whom some of the psalms are attributed. For centuries the psalms have nourished the prayer both of Jews and Christians. Memory of Thomas Becket, defender of justice and of the dignity of the Church.
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 2, 3-11
In this way we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
Whoever says, 'I know him' without keeping his commandments, is a liar, and truth has no place in him.
But anyone who does keep his word, in such a one God's love truly reaches its perfection. This is the proof that we are in God.
Whoever claims to remain in him must act as he acted.
My dear friends, this is not a new commandment I am writing for you, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message you have heard.
Yet in another way, I am writing a new commandment for you -- and this is true for you, just as much as for him -- for darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
Whoever claims to be in light but hates his brother is still in darkness.
Anyone who loves his brother remains in light and there is in him nothing to make him fall away.
But whoever hates his brother is in darkness and is walking about in darkness not knowing where he is going, because darkness has blinded him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The desire to know God is deeply rooted in the heart of every human person. And it is good for this desire to disturb us. It is the first step in escaping our selfishness. John is trying to teach us a simple way to know the Lord. And he writes that we can know God if we keep his commandments, not if we make great efforts of speculative thought. John affirms that there is no other way to know him. Whoever listens to his Word and puts it into practice abides in God himself, so much so that John can say that “truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection.” We are not perfect; the love that has been given to us is perfect. Obviously it has to be put into practice; we need to walk “just as he walked.” The apostle then introduces the theme of love. He states that it is a new commandment, but also an old one, one that they have been given since the beginning. The Gospel and love have been tightly bound together since the beginning. A true breakthrough has occurred in human history. Jesus brought about a new perspective on humanity; he proposed a new vision, and with it “the true light is...shining,” the light that scatters the shadows that envelop the world. It is the light of the love of God, which brings us to love our brothers and sisters as well. Whoever does not welcome and live in this love remains “in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.” The Gospel is the true innovation that changes the world. There is no alternative to love, other than darkness and 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
