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
Mark 1,40-45
A man suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, 'If you are willing, you can cleanse me.' Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And at once the skin-disease left him and he was cleansed. And at once Jesus sternly sent him away and said to him, 'Mind you tell no one anything, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing prescribed by Moses as evidence to them.' The man went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places. Even so, people from all around kept coming to him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus continued to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God and to heal many from various diseases. On one of those days a leper approaches him. Lepers were doomed to be at the margins, they has to keep at a distance and wish for was some alms. But, when he heard about Jesus, this leper dared to hope more and overcoming all prohibitions, including that of entering an inhabited area, he went in front of Jesus. that barred him from entering an inhabited place, he came to Jesus. He thought that the young prophet could help him. Differently from habits that kept lepers at a distance for fear of contagion, Jesus welcomed him. In that leper, we see all the sick that still today have no hope of healing and who are turned away from men and women for fear of contagion. Sometimes it is not only about individuals but also about entire peoples who are excluded from development, to which everyone is entitled. Once in the presence of Jesus, the leper knelt down and begged for healing: "If you choose, you can make me clean." Jesus "was moved with pity," listened to that cry and reached out his hand and touched the leper who by law was considered untouchable. We, who have long respected the severe rules of social distancing in order to avoid contagion during the pandemic, this Gospel suggests that "stretching one's hand" points to a commitment to recuperate in any possible way - not being reckless - the sense of bonds, closeness and warmth that can and must be transmitted so that isolation do not become solitude. With his gesture and consequent healing, Jesus restored the dignity of the leper's wounded body and the right to live among others without being shunned any more. Jesus' love for him was truly great. Perhaps out of concern that the man would be persecuted by the authorities, Jesus warned him to say nothing and to present himself to the priests to make an offering as was prescribed. The man, however, full of joy, could not keep himself from sharing the news and told whoever he met the overflowing joy he felt. This miracle that Mark recounted asks all of us, the Christian communities of today, to be attentive to the cry of the poor, as Jesus was, and to "perform" alongside Jesus miracles that give back dignity to and increase the joy of the sick and poor.
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!
