Memorial of the death of Gandhi, killed in1948 in New Delhi. With him we remember all those who, in the name of non-violence, are peacemakers. Read more
Memorial of the death of Gandhi, killed in1948 in New Delhi. With him we remember all those who, in the name of non-violence, are peacemakers.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Hebrews 10,19-25
We have then, brothers, complete confidence through the blood of Jesus in entering the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his flesh. And we have the high priest over all the sanctuary of God. So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our hearts sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is trustworthy. Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works. Do not absent yourself from your own assemblies, as some do, but encourage each other; the more so as you see the Day drawing near.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Having finished his doctrinal analysis of Jesus as high priest, the author explains to believers what this should mean for them. The union with the "flesh" of Christ, with His body, allows us to enter into the sanctuary that he has already entered. Communion with the Body of Christ is indeed direct communion with God and therefore with all of our brothers and sisters. The author uses the Greek term "parrhesia" that is translated "true heart." In ancient Greece the right of "parrhesia" indicated the right to be full title citizens and be free to speak. In the community of believers, it means having the freedom to speak to God without an intermediary, that is, being able to speak to Him with the absolute trust of son and daughters. This is the "way" that Jesus opened for us and that the Letter urges us to follow without fear: "Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Living in the community, participating in the Holy Liturgy, in the communion with our brothers and sisters, loving the poorest, and committing ourselves to making everyone's life more serene, all this means following the path that Jesus opened for us. This is why the Letter urges believers to "provoke one another to love" and to be generous in "good deeds." And those who abandon the meetings of the community are warned that by doing so they are distancing themselves from the sanctuary, that is, from God himself. The danger of apostasy, that is, of abandoning faith, before being a theoretical question, is a problem of the heart. And we should understand that this abandonment does not just happen suddenly: it starts with neglecting the community's meetings and remaining silent, and slowly slips into the breakdown of communion. The Letter warns that in this way "we spurn the Son of God," and "outrage the Spirit of grace."
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
