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
Acts 28,23-29
So they arranged a day with him and a large number of them visited him at his lodgings. He put his case to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them about Jesus, arguing from the Law of Moses and the prophets from early morning until evening; and some were convinced by what he said, while the rest were sceptical. So they disagreed among themselves and, as they went away, Paul had one last thing to say to them, 'How aptly the Holy Spirit spoke when he told your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah: Go and say to this people: Listen and listen but never understand! Look and look but never perceive! This people's heart is torpid, their ears dulled, they have shut their eyes tight, to avoid using their eyes to see, their ears to hear, using their heart to understand, changing their ways and being healed by me. 'You must realise, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the gentiles;they will listen to it.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The author narrates the second meeting between Paul and the Jews, as if to underline that the apostle Paul, even in Rome, speaks first with the Jews. In effect, a group of Jews that was much more numerous than the first time, came to Paul’s house. And the apostle, Luke notes, announced the Gospel to them “from morning until evening,” presenting a synthesis of the Christian message as described in Pauline preachingthat is, the message about the “kingdom of God” and the things “about Jesus.” Paul wanted to show them that the entirety of Scripture confirms that Jesus is the Messiah. The reaction of those present for Paul’s preaching is not unanimous; some accept it, while others refute it and an internal debate arises. For the apostle, it would have been reasonable for the entire the entire group (or, Israel in its entirety) to accept his preaching of the Gospel. But, this is was not their response. Adhesion of just a part of them is not enough. At this point, Paul recalls the words of condemnation that the Lord addressed to Israel through the prophet Isaiah: the Jews had the chance to listen to the Word, but they did not want to listen. At this point, Paul is completely free, also in Rome, which is also to say free in the whole inhabited world, to address the pagans. Paul does not intend to sanction the opposition between Jews and Christians, but only affirm that at that moment, in the very heart of the empire, the community of Jesus’ disciples is building itself up as a church of nations, stressing the universality of the Gospel message that was also present in the prophetic words of Isaiah, “All flesh shall see the salvation of God”(Lk 3:6).
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
