Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Matthew 5,17-19
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
As can be seen in this Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus is well aware of the importance of the law. And he clearly affirms: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil." The evangelist, who is probably in a dispute with Christians who considered the law less important, reports Jesus' affirmation that he did not come to abolish the Scriptures, but to bring them to fulfilment, from Abraham to Moses and the Prophets. That is to say that there is a reference to Jesus in every page of Scripture, in every "yod" (the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet). The entire story of God's love for his people culminates with Jesus. Consequently, for the Christian community, Jesus becomes the interpretative key of every page of the Old Testament. The story of God's love that traverses every page of the Old Testament finds its culmination in the story of Jesus. In this sense, Christians affirm that Gospel love is the fulfilment of the Law, God's limitless love for us that led Jesus all the way to the Cross. And so, we can say that anyone who loves fulfils the Law of the Lord. Every page of the Bible should be listened to, because every one of them contains a moment of the history of Gods' extraordinary love for men and women. Every page should be meditated on and cherished with care and devotion. We should wish for true devotion for this holy Book that contains the Word of God to spring forth. Just as there is devotion for the Eucharist, so should there be devotion for the Holy Scriptures. And it is beautiful that Pope Francis urges every diocesan Church to establish a "feast of the Bible." And we can remember the example of Saint Francis, who exhorted his brothers to always pick up pieces of paper that fell to the ground (the books of the time often had transcriptions of biblical passages) in case they contained the words of the Gospel. According to the Teacher, the disciples must welcome every word of Holy Scripture into their hearts and bring them to fulfilment in their daily lives.
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
