European day of memory of the Holocaust Read more
European day of memory of the Holocaust
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
Hebrews 9,15.24-28
This makes him the mediator of a new covenant, so that, now that a death has occurred to redeem the sins committed under an earlier covenant, those who have been called to an eternal inheritance may receive the promise. It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was merely a model of the real one; he entered heaven itself, so that he now appears in the presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, as the high priest goes into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. As it is, he has made his appearance once and for all, at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since human beings die only once, after which comes judgement, so Christ too, having offered himself only once to bear the sin of many, will manifest himself a second time, sin being no more, to those who are waiting for him, to bring them salvation.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
With the term "covenant" (testament) the author of the letter refers to a firm commitment - as this term is used in juridical terminology - made by God himself to his people. It is in this horizon that the death of Jesus, which happened once for all, demonstrates the eternal validity of the pact God established. The cross is not annulled by Easter. On the contrary, the entire ritual theology of the author of the letter tends to portray Christ's sacrifice as an eternally lasting event that continuously works salvation. Jesus' death is necessary for our salvation. In the sprinkling of the book and the people with blood done by Moses on Sinai, the author reads the figure of death on the cross. We might infer that the "word of the Gospel" should also be sprinkled with blood. In short, one cannot separate the Gospel from the cross: Jesus' death is not a necessary reparation to forgive sins but the logical conclusion of a love that leads to giving one's life for the salvation of others. Through his sacrifice, Jesus has already made us enter the heavenly sanctuary. Therefore, when the letter speaks of "heavenly" realities, it does not mean realities far away from us, but the Church, the community of believers, understood as a house of prayer, fraternity and love for the poor. The uniqueness of Christ's sacrifice also applies to the Church understood as the place where Christ dwells and is manifested. That is why she is the first fruits of salvation: in her the unity of the peoples of the earth is already realised, as Vatican II states: the Church is a sign and instrument of the unity of the human race. We cannot today, 27 January, European Holocaust Memorial Day, fail to remember the atrocious violence to which millions of Jews were subjected in the Nazi death camps and in the many places where they were exterminated during the Second World War. May this day be for all an indelible memory and a warning against rising anti-Semitism and all forms of racism: it is contempt that leads to the elimination of the other.
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
