Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Wisdom 6,1-11
Listen then, kings, and understand; rulers of remotest lands, take warning; hear this, you who govern great populations, taking pride in your hosts of subject nations! For sovereignty is given to you by the Lord and power by the Most High, who will himself probe your acts and scrutinise your intentions. If therefore, as servants of his kingdom, you have not ruled justly nor observed the law, nor followed the will of God, he will fall on you swiftly and terribly. On the highly placed a ruthless judgement falls; the lowly are pardoned, out of pity, but the mighty will be mightily tormented. For the Lord of all does not cower before anyone, he does not stand in awe of greatness, since he himself has made small and great and provides for all alike; but a searching trial awaits those who wield power. So, monarchs, my words are meant for you, so that you may learn wisdom and not fall into error; for those who in holiness observe holy things will be adjudged holy, and, accepting instruction from them, will find their defence in them. Set your heart, therefore, on what I have to say, listen with a will, and you will be instructed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The life of the just person, crowned with a royal diadem, is a model that especially those who are responsible for governing should imitate. The divine invitation for them is full of concern. Those who govern are asked the same thing that the Lord asks from everyone: to search for wisdom and the Word of God: "Set your desire on my words; long for them, and you will be instructed" (v. 11). The Word of God instructs; it teaches the way of goodness and justice. This is why everyone, including powerful people and royalty, is called to search for and desire it. The Word of God is for everyone, including those who govern. It enables people to interpret history with wisdom and helps them understand the signs of the times and have visions that go beyond their ordinary narrow horizons. By tracing the origin of human power to God the Bible is not trying to establish a theocracy, it is reminding us that no one holds power absolutely. All men and women are subject to God, and it is from God, in fact, that all men and women receive life and strength. In the end all totalitarianism is idolatry. This is why governing is a responsibility and indeed a service. Those who govern must learn from the Lord, who "made both small and great, and he takes thought for all alike" (v. 7). Here the book of Wisdom is affirming a principle of equality at a time when the idea of the equality of human beings had not yet been affirmed, except for a few exceptions in the Hellenistic world. The equality of all that demands love for all creatures is rooted in creation itself, when God made man and woman in his image and likeness. The divine origin of humanity is the root of the equality of all. This theological foundation asks all people, but in particular those who have the responsibility of governing, to preserve and protect the dignity of all men and women, from conception until natural death.
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!
