Memorial of Saint Ambrose (+ 397), bishop of Milan. Pastor of his people, a defender of the poor and the weak against any oppression, he was strong in defending the Church from the emperor's arrogance. Read more
Memorial of Saint Ambrose (+ 397), bishop of Milan. Pastor of his people, a defender of the poor and the weak against any oppression, he was strong in defending the Church from the emperor's arrogance.
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
Matthew 7,21.24-27
'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. 'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
These words close the sermon on the mountain, Jesus' first great speech in the Gospel of Matthew. At the beginning we encounter strong words: "only the one how does the will of my Father in heaven" will be worthy of the kingdom and not the one who will only invoke the name of the Lord. John Chrysostom, stigmatizing the passivity with which the Christians of his time were participating in the Sunday liturgy, as they were not taking any change for their daily life from it, said: "Do you believe that spiritual fervour consists in the simple fact of continually coming to the Celebration of the Divine Liturgy? This counts for nothing, if we do not reap some fruit from it: if we reap nothing, it is better to stay at home!" And what it means to do the Father's will is made clear several times in the Gospel, as when Jesus states: "And this is the will of him that sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day" (Jn 6:39). The will of the Father is the salvation of all. Jesus came for this, and we are called to fulfil, with him, this dream shown in clear letters in the Gospel. Jesus' words are very clear: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man, who built his house on rock," whereas "everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on sand." The example continues: the rains come; the rivers flood; the wind blows down on both houses. These are the storms of life we all experience. So, the house built on rock stood firm, whereas the other house, built on sand, crumbled. They are two effective images. Jesus compares those who listen to the Gospel and put it into practice to builders. The Gospel should not be heard as a literary exercise or for some god feelings. It is a word given to us to build life on a solid and stable foundation. This is why Jesus invites us to listen to it and most of all to act on it.
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
