In the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere we pray for the sick.
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo (†1584), bishop of Milan.
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In the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere we pray for the sick.
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo (†1584), bishop of Milan.
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
Romans 11,29-36
There is no change of mind on God's part about the gifts he has made or of his choice. Just as you were in the past disobedient to God but now you have been shown mercy, through their disobedience; so in the same way they are disobedient now, so that through the mercy shown to you they too will receive mercy. God has imprisoned all human beings in their own disobedience only to show mercy to them all. How rich and deep are the wisdom and the knowledge of God! We cannot reach to the root of his decisions or his ways. Who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? Who has given anything to him, so that his presents come only as a debt returned? Everything there is comes from him and is caused by him and exists for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In this third reflection on the meaning of Israel in the history of salvation, Paul tries to understand what God's plan is for His people. Despite having stated that the true Israel is only that little remnant that has proved faithful to his God by accepting Jesus as the Messiah, Paul poses the problem of those who have not taken this decisive step. Certainly the Lord has not abandoned "his people", says Paul strongly from the beginning. Their refusal of the announcement of salvation is a mystery that arouses in him an intimate suffering. But even before this obstinate refusal which he cannot explain, the apostle is certain that it is not a definitive attitude. Paul sees a mysterious relationship between the people of Israel and the new covenant, which will become visible in a moment not yet known of the history of salvation. The new alliance is linked to the first as the new graft is linked to the old trunk on which it is placed. The believers of the new covenant must not, however, feel proud; on the contrary, they are called to give thanks for having been called to salvation. Paul writes: "I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved." It is a prophetic vision of history that reveals a singular closeness between the ancient Israel and the believers in Christ. In any case, they are asked to recognize the presence of God in human history - Saint John XXIII would say to recognize the "signs of the times" - and take part in it to direct it to His kingdom of love and peace. The Jews remain the people of the promise, from which the man Jesus came out.
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
