The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Read more
The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
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
Numbers 24,2-7.15-17
Raising his eyes Balaam saw Israel settled tribe by tribe; the spirit of God came on him and he declaimed his poem, as follows: The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of the man with far-seeing eyes, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God. He sees what Shaddai makes him see, receives the divine answer, and his eyes are opened. How fair your tents are, Jacob, how fair your dwellings, Israel, like valleys that stretch afar, like gardens by the banks of a river, like aloes planted by Yahweh, like cedars beside the waters! A hero arises from their stock, he reigns over countless peoples. His king is greater than Agag, and his kingship held in honour. He then declaimed his poem, as follows: The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of the man with far-seeing eyes, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, of one who knows the knowledge of the Most High. He sees what Shaddai makes him see, receives the divine answer, and his eyes are opened. I see him -- but not in the present. I perceive him -- but not close at hand: a star is emerging from Jacob, a sceptre is rising from Israel, to strike the brow of Moab, the skulls of all the children of Seth.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The series of events of Balaam is very meaningful. He is called by Balak, the king of Moab and enemy of Israel, to curse Israel. On the contrary, Balaam blesses them. The prophet of doom becomes before God a prophet of hope, as the text says: "Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping... Then the spirit of God was upon him." and blessed Israel. For the Word of God 'uncovers the eye' and helps one to see reality clearly. Yet even though he is not a prophet of Israel, God also reveals himself to Balaam so that he understands history in depth and interprets it in the light of God. The Spirit - we know this well - blows where he wills. This is why Pope Francis invites us to have our eyes and ears open to catch the signs of God, and to listen for wise words even from those who are not "our own." Balaam's words remind us that there are men and women who speak because they are reached by the Word of God in a mysterious and they see history with a wisdom that is sometimes hidden from us. For this reason, it is crucial to meet and dialogue with everyone, with other Christians, with believers of other religions, with all people of good will, and to grasp also in them and together with them those "seeds of the Word" - as the Fathers of the Church said - that the Spirit has placed in human history. Sincere dialogue with all is a path to be always undertaken so that we may understand better the time we are living in and seek together the answers for peace.
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
