Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Jesuit of the 16th century, missionary in India and Japan. Read more
Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Jesuit of the 16th century, missionary in India and Japan.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Isaiah 11,1-10
A shoot will spring from the stock of Jesse, a new shoot will grow from his roots. On him will rest the spirit of Yahweh, the spirit of wisdom and insight, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh: his inspiration will lie in fearing Yahweh. His judgement will not be by appearances. his verdict not given on hearsay. He will judge the weak with integrity and give fair sentence for the humblest in the land. He will strike the country with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips bring death to the wicked. Uprightness will be the belt around his waist, and constancy the belt about his hips. The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid, calf, lion and fat-stock beast together, with a little boy to lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like the ox. The infant will play over the den of the adder; the baby will put his hand into the viper's lair. No hurt, no harm will be done on all my holy mountain, for the country will be full of knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea. That day, the root of Jesse, standing as a signal for the peoples, will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The oracle of the prophet is closely linked to chapters 7 and 9, in which the prophet had announced the birth of a child, a descendant of David, Emmanuel, "God-with-us". The condition of slavery had made the people of Israel similar to a dry trunk. There was no hope of a thriving future, which the prophet presents as a flowering tree bearing leaves and fruit. But then prophecy comes and overcomes the sadness of the present time: "A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." From the dry trunk sprouts a shoot. It is still small branch. It does not have the appearance of greatness according to human standards, but its sap is strong because the very Spirit of God gives it life. Indeed, the prophet continues: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." The enumeration of the six gifts of the Spirit suggests the extraordinary strength of the "branch," strength that is not closed in itself but is transmitted to all those who graft themselves to it. We too, grafted on to that branch, will receive the gifts of the Spirit and will become spiritual men and women. The Spirit will help us read the many "signs of the time," in order to transform the world according to the justice of God, which begins when the poor and oppressed are defended and welcomed. Love for the poor is the foundation of justice for the whole of society and the beginning of peace among the nations. The images of wolf that lives with the lamb, the leopard that lies down with the kid, and the calf and the lion that graze together, led by a child, are eloquent. It is the miracle of the peaceful coexistence between the peoples that the Spirit is capable of creating. The disciples are entrusted with this dream that is certainly impossible to be realized only by human strength. But if we let ourselves be led by the Spirit; we know that "nothing is impossible to God."
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
