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
Genesis 46,1-7.28-30
So Israel set out with all his possessions. Arriving at Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, 'Jacob, Jacob,' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied. 'I am El, God of your father,' he said. 'Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I shall go down to Egypt with you and I myself shall bring you back again, and Joseph's hand will close your eyes.' So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel's sons conveyed their father Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to fetch him. Taking their livestock and all that they had acquired in Canaan, they arrived in Egypt -- Jacob and all his offspring. With him to Egypt, he brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters -- all his offspring. Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that Judah might present himself to Joseph in Goshen. When they arrived in Goshen, Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he appeared he threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder. Israel said to Joseph, 'Now I can die, now that I have seen you in person and seen you still alive.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Joseph's long story with his dreams, which were interpreted with jealousy by his brothers and which lead to violence ends with the encounter with his father. Jacob, who was in Canaan, decides to see him before dying and sets out for Egypt. He cannot stand to die without seeing him. Jacob sets on a journey. He brings his entire family with him, because he wants them all to be reconciled with the son who was sold to the Egyptians. His encounter with his son is full of emotion. It allows Jacob to be reconciled to his entire life, so that he can exclaim, "I can die now." The true aspiration of Jacob, of the people of God, is for no one to be lost. This is why he sets on a journey to find the son of the dreams, even if old and among many dangers and inconveniences. When Jacob sees his son, he understands how God's blessing came true. The violent, murderous jealousy of the brothers, caused by Jacob's preference for the "dreamer," was the fruit of evil and an excuse for malevolent comparisons. For the Lord, everything works towards the good, and the greatest is the one who became a slave for us. Diversity, like Joseph's dreams, was a wealth also for Joseph's brothers even if they did not understand it; in fact they had opposed and even sold him. Joseph's charisms were not for division and even less for conflict. On the contrary they were a gift from the Lord for the common good. This is what finally happened.
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!
