Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus (+929), venerated as a martyr in Bohemia. Memorial of William Quijano, young Salvadorian man of the Community of Sant'Egidio, killed in 2009 by the violence of the maras. Read more
Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus (+929), venerated as a martyr in Bohemia. Memorial of William Quijano, young Salvadorian man of the Community of Sant'Egidio, killed in 2009 by the violence of the maras.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 9,43-45
and everyone was awestruck by the greatness of God. But while everyone was full of admiration for all he did, he said to his disciples, 'For your part, you must have these words constantly in mind: The Son of man is going to be delivered into the power of men.' But they did not understand what he said; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The insistence in saying: "Let these words sink into your ears...", seems to be done to force the harshness of the disciples' mind to understand Jesus' true identity. He warns them strongly that they should not be deceived by the admiration all feel for him, for a humiliating and painful death is awaiting him. In the language of the Bible, "to be betrayed into human hands," refers to the painful and cruel fate of someone abandoned by God and left at the mercy of the power and judgment of human beings. And this is exactly what will happen. But despite this clarity, the evangelist underlines, the disciples do not understand. This could be said of us, we who are often distant, like the disciples of that time, from the thoughts and concerns of Jesus and especially distant from the sense he had of his mission. Salvation is not gained through human power or force, but only through love for all, a love that goes as far as to give its own life for its enemies. The evangelist notes that the disciples still could not understand Jesus' words, their "meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it." They remained in silence, without asking for any further explanation. It is an attitude of harshness and mistrust. They do not accept their ignorance and prefer to stay in the dark. Nonetheless, Jesus does not abandon them. He continues to instruct them, hoping that little by little they will understand the Gospel.
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
