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
Luke 8,1-3
Now it happened that after this he made his way through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus chooses to have not only the Twelve but also some women beside him. It is an exemplary choice of the new style that Jesus came to establish. Only Luke points this out. The evangelist writes that those women "had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities," and had chosen to follow Jesus by putting all their possessions at his and the disciples' service. In this sense they were full title that new group Jesus had created, making of it a real community. This indication of the evangelist is important because the show as Jesus went beyond the habits of his time. It was in fact unthinkable for the rabbinic costume at that time to have women into the circle of disciples. Opposing to the mentality of his time, Jesus associates them to his own mission, as you see in other Gospel pages. Luke mentions three women: Mary of Magdala, who was freed from "seven demons," i.e. a considerable number of evil spirits; Joanna, a woman close to King Herod, who will also be mentioned in the resurrection narrative; and Susanna of whom nothing is known. Probably they were affluent women who were attracted by Jesus' proclamation and started to put their riches at the service of the Teacher and his small group. Already in these few lines, the primacy of discipleship, which overcomes all barriers, even those that seem most difficult to overcome, becomes clear. For Jesus, what counts is being a disciple. And discipleship confers on each one the true and most important dignity: that of proclaiming the Gospel and testifying that love is entrusted to all disciples, beyond all distinctions.
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!
