The prayer for the sick is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Read more
The prayer for the sick is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
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
Matthew 14,13-21
When Jesus received this news he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the crowds heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick. When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.' Jesus replied, 'There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.' But they answered, 'All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.' So he said, 'Bring them here to me.' He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps left over, twelve baskets full. Now about five thousand men had eaten, to say nothing of women and children.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Let us reflect more on the multiplication of the loaves, as presented to us in the Gospel of Matthew. It begins with the notation of Jesus who, after learning the news of the death of the Baptist, wants to withdraw to a deserted place. The desert is the place of trial and prayer. The crowds, having heard the news, preceded him. And the desert also becomes the place of hunger. We think of the growing number of poor and lonely people, the countless line of those fleeing wars and hunger and those seeking a more serene future. The evangelist notes that it was a deserted place, but perhaps more than a physical desert - so much so that he then speaks of the grass - the intention is to emphasize the absence of love, solidarity and peace that makes our cities like a desert, like impossible places to live well. It is for these crowds living in deserted places that Jesus "had compassion." The disciples also have a feeling of compassion, so much so that they suggest to Jesus to send the people away since they were in a deserted place, and it was now evening. This is a more than reasonable remark: "This is a deserted place," they say to Jesus, "and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." However, this compassion of the disciples was marked by resignation. And many times, we too are resigned to the present condition, thinking that it is impossible to change the ordinary course of things. For Jesus it is not so: "They need not to go away; you give them something to eat." The Lord is well aware that there is little in the disciples' hands: barely five loaves and two fish. But he calls them anyway to meet the need of the crowd. Jesus knows well that it is not the natural gifts of the disciples that perform the miracle. The Lord performs the miracle provided we place our trust in his hands, namely those few loaves and fishes we have. In fact, the Lord multiplies our energy, our strength if we put our trust in him.
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
