Memorial of the prophet Elijah who was taken into heaven and left his mantle to Elisha. Read more
Memorial of the prophet Elijah who was taken into heaven and left his mantle to Elisha.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Exodus 12,37-42
The Israelites left Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand on the march-men, that is, not counting their families. A mixed crowd of people went with them, and flocks and herds, quantities of livestock. And with the dough which they had brought from Egypt they baked unleavened cakes, because the dough had not risen, since they had been driven out of Egypt without time to linger or to prepare food for themselves. The time that the Israelites spent in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And on the very day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all Yahweh's armies left Egypt. The night when Yahweh kept vigil to bring them out of Egypt must be kept as a vigil in honour of Yahweh by all Israelites, for all generations.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The people set off. There is no Passover without going out, without moving out. There can be no new life or future land without facing the journey, sometimes treacherous and difficult, which puts us to the test but ultimately leads to the promised land. Jesus himself will send his disciples to the very ends of the earth, so that Christians might bring the Gospel of love to all peoples. And we must hurry to do it. Especially in this time in which globalization has made people closer through the market but not through fraternity. We cannot put off the proclamation of the "Good News" that saves all. God hurries us, because he knows that complicity with evil is not without consequences. God is in a hurry that His people listen to the cry of all people of the earth, especially of the immense people of the poor and dismissed people that cross the entire planet. But we humans often think that the suffering of the poor and the prisoners can wait. This passage shows with extreme clarity that one can save him or herself. Unfortunately Christianity was affected by the virus of individualism that disaggregates the sense of being part of one people. Also freedom is often reduced to care for one's own space. Thus we become slaves of the Pharaoh hidden in the heart of each of us. We must be vigilant, pray and listen to the Word of God; and we need to do it together. The entire creation is waiting for its Passover, its passage from death to life. Let us be led by God's word and let us set off in his light as it shows us the path to walk on.
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
