Memorial of Saint John, apostle and evangelist, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" who under the cross took Mary as his mother. Read more
Memorial of Saint John, apostle and evangelist, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" who under the cross took Mary as his mother.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth to the people he loves.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 20,2-8
and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,' she said, 'and we don't know where they have put him.' So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John is one of the first four disciples that Jesus called. Tradition has it that John was the disciple that "Jesus loved," the only one who could lean his head on Jesus' chest during the last supper. Together with Peter and James, he accompanied Jesus during his agony in the garden of olives. But like the others, he too fled and left Jesus alone. However, he immediately went back and followed Jesus all the way to the cross. And here he welcomed the invitation to take Mary, Jesus' mother, with him. Today's Gospel shows him in the early hours of the day of Easter, running with Peter toward the tomb. He was younger than Peter and he got there first, saw the bandages on the ground, but did not enter. He waited for Peter, older than him. The Fathers of the Church commented that "love runs faster and gets there first." However, John knew how to wait for his other brother to go together inside the tomb. One does never run alone. The "we," being together, is more valuable than the "I" for Jesus' disciples. During his public life Jesus had already taught it to them when he sent the disciples out "two by two." The two entered the tomb. As soon as he entered, John "saw and believed": he immediately understood that Jesus' body had not been taken away (given the presence of the shroud where they had laid him) and he believed. His witness, which was reported in the fourth Gospel and in the Letters, is focused on the preaching of the love of God and brothers and sisters, understood as the heart of the Teacher's message. Tradition says that, ahead in years, John was brought on a chair into the assembly of the Christians and used to always repeat the commandment of love. When asked why he continued to repeat it he used to answer: "Because it is the Lord's commandment! If one practices it, it is enough."
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
