Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 6,60-69
After hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?' Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, 'Does this disturb you? What if you should see the Son of man ascend to where he was before? 'It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 'But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the outset who did not believe and who was to betray him. He went on, 'This is why I told you that no one could come to me except by the gift of the Father.' After this, many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more. Then Jesus said to the Twelve, 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' Simon Peter answered, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel passage we have just heard concludes the great "speech of the bread" that Jesus is doing in the synagogue of Capernaum. The entire text that the evangelist reports tells us of a fundamental truth: Jesus "is" the bread and not simply "has" the bread, which is what people thought after seeing the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. This statement of Jesus as "the bread of life" is felt as excessive even by the disciples, who say to each other: "This teaching is difficult." In these words, they understand that "eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus" means to welcome in themselves a love so great that it involves their lives in a total way. This kind of love, which the authors of the New Testament call "agape," is stronger even than death. Jesus cannot give up communicating the Gospel of love. And to the disciples who were offended by these words, he says that they would be even more so if they saw him "ascending where he was before." Jesus knows that only with the eyes of faith can one recognize it and accept him. And he repeats to them: "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father." He reiterates that without the humility of being helped, it is impossible to understand the Word of the Gospel. Jesus turns to the "Twelve" (It is the first time that this term appears in the Gospel of John) and asks them, "Do you also wish to go away?" It is one of the most dramatic moments of Jesus' life. Jesus could not deny his Gospel, even at the cost of being alone. Gospel love is exclusive, without limitation, or is not Gospel love. Peter, who perhaps saw Jesus' passionate and at the same time firm eyes, let his heart be touched and thus says to Jesus, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life." Peter does not say "where" we go, but "to whom" we can go. The Lord Jesus is really our only saviour.
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
