Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Hebrews 2,5-12
It was not under angels that he put the world to come, about which we are speaking. Someone witnesses to this somewhere with the words: What are human beings that you spare a thought for them, a child of Adam that you care for him? For a short while you have made him less than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honour, put all things under his feet. For in putting all things under him he made no exceptions. At present, it is true, we are not able to see that all things are under him, but we do see Jesus, who was for a short while made less than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he submitted to death; so that by God's grace his experience of death should benefit all humanity. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should, in bringing many sons to glory, make perfect through suffering the leader of their salvation. For consecrator and consecrated are all of the same stock; that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers in the text: I shall proclaim your name to my brothers, praise you in full assembly; or in the text:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
"What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals, that you care for them?" This line from Psalm 8 quoted by the author of this Letter reminds believers of God's extraordinary love: in order to save humanity from the power of evil and death, God does not remain looking down from heaven but sends his very Son to take care of and save us. When suffering hits us, he comes close to taking on himself our sorrow and pains. He sent his own Son on earth "bring many children to glory" (v. 10). The Son descended into the depths of human history, to gather everyone and bring them to safety in heaven. In this way, Jesus became the "the pioneer of the salvation" (v. 10) of all people. He is the Son of the Most High, but he was not ashamed of us, of our sin, or our poverty. Rather, he said to the Father: "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you" (v.12). For those Christians who lived under the nightmare of persecution and suffering, this proclamation was a great consolation. Let us also welcome these words because they are still a source of consolation today for those who suffer and for those who are oppressed. Jesus has become the "high priest" for believers and for all humankind. This is the first time in the New Testament that the title "high priest" is used for Jesus. The appellation does not distance him from men and women, on the contrary it reveals him as the true intercessor who saves. United with Jesus, we too become priests who intercede at the altar of God for the sick, the persecuted and for all humanity.
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
