Memorial of Saint martin of Tours (+397), a bishop in France; he converted by sharing his cloak with a poor and became a father of monks and of the poor. Többet
Memorial of Saint martin of Tours (+397), a bishop in France; he converted by sharing his cloak with a poor and became a father of monks and of the poor.
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 17,1-6
He said to his disciples, 'Causes of falling are sure to come, but alas for the one through whom they occur! It would be better for such a person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone round the neck than to be the downfall of a single one of these little ones. Keep watch on yourselves! 'If your brother does something wrong, rebuke him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, "I am sorry," you must forgive him.' The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith.' The Lord replied, 'If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus asks his disciples, "Be on your guard!" Vigilance over oneself, one's behaviour, and one's fidelity to the Gospel is the first task of every disciple and even more so of those who have pastoral responsibility. Jesus adds that being able to pardon is even part of the disciple's wisdom. We all know how weak we are and how easy it is to fall into sin. Jesus purposely gives us the strength to pardon. The ability to pardon is not spontaneous. Indeed, pardon is really rare today. Unfortunately, vengeance has more room in everyday life. It is urgent that mercy and pardon flourish over the ease with which sin is affirmed. To pardon "seven times," as Jesus asks, means to forgive always. Obviously, it is not a question of condescending to sin. Jesus always demands repentance for a fault committed and the consequent change of life. But the readiness to be merciful must never be lacking. Mercy is the sign of God's presence among people. Understanding that mercy does not originate from inside themselves, the disciples realize that the instinct to remain in hate or at least indifference is strong, even for them. And so they ask the Lord, "Increase our faith." Jesus - perhaps surprising even us - answers that even a little faith, as small as that of a mustard seed, is enough. This little bit of faith, of trust in God, is capable of performing miracles.
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!
