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
Daniel 6, 18-28
A stone was then brought and laid over the mouth of the pit; and the king sealed it with his own signet and with that of his noblemen, so that there could be no going back on the original decision about Daniel.
The king returned to his palace, spent the night in fasting and refused to receive any of his concubines. Sleep eluded him,
and at the first sign of dawn he got up and hurried to the lion pit.
As he approached the pit he called in anguished tones to Daniel, 'Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you serve so faithfully, been able to save you from the lions?'
Daniel answered the king, 'May Your Majesty live for ever!
My God sent his angel who sealed the lions' jaws; they did me no harm, since in his sight I am blameless; neither have I ever done you any wrong, Your Majesty.'
The king was overjoyed and ordered Daniel to be released from the pit. Daniel was released from the pit and found to be quite unhurt, because he had trusted in his God.
The king then sent for the men who had accused Daniel and had them thrown into the lion pit, and their wives and children too; and before they reached the floor of the pit the lions had seized them and crushed their bones to pieces.
King Darius then wrote to all nations, peoples and languages dwelling throughout the world: 'May you prosper more and more!
This is my decree: Throughout every dominion of my realm, let all tremble with fear before the God of Daniel: He is the living God, he endures for ever, his kingdom will never be destroyed and his empire never come to an end.
He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth; he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Throughout history we see threats to faith in God, because his presence puts human pride and power into question; it asks us to look beyond ourselves and teaches us mercy in a world full of conflict. Advised by his counsellors, Darius, the powerful Persian king, demands that everyone completely submit to his power. Nonetheless, he has respect for Daniel and Daniel’s God, so much so that he tries to save Daniel. But often evil seems strong enough to render impossible any attempt to oppose it. Daniel is in the lions’ den. His life seems to be ending. What strength did his faith have This is the question that accompanies believers who find themselves in difficult situationswhen evil touches them or when they see its destructive force. Daniel does not resign himself to the evil force that seems invincible. His faith unexpectedly reached all the way to Darius. Indeed, the prayer and words of a person of faith communicate beyond our expectations. It is significant to note thatas opposed to what happens in the burning furnaceit is the same king who turns in prayer to the Lordhe starts fastingto save Daniel from evil. Even the powerful are changed by faith. It renders them more human and therefore closer to God. We should never despair before evil, even when it seems to assault us like a roaring lion to devour us, as the first letter of Peter says, "Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (5:9). Daniel had faith and the Lord sent an angel to free him from the lions’ den. The Lord will not allow evil or death to imprison his faithful. "He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, for he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions." He will free those who confide in him.
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
