Memorial of Don Lorenzo Milani (+1967), a Florentine priest, prior in Barbiana, where he was a teacher of the children and youth of the Popular School he founded. Többet
Memorial of Don Lorenzo Milani (+1967), a Florentine priest, prior in Barbiana, where he was a teacher of the children and youth of the Popular School he founded.
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
Matthew 7,15-20
'Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus warns of the danger of allowing oneself to be lured by false prophets, that is, by those people or that way of life that appears easier and immediate, but which in reality steals life precisely like a predatory wolf. One is reminded of the many 'enchanters' who in many parts, especially in poorer countries, preach what is called the 'religion of prosperity.' A preaching that deceives and does not save. On the contrary, it deludes and harms. So, Jesus also warns the disciples to beware of the behaviour of the Pharisees. That is, from an outward or ritualistic way of living the faith or conforming to the mentality of the world. Many Christians believe they are living the Gospel by enclosing themselves in their own little enclosure. We must not forget that temptations always present themselves as flattering and reasonable, like wolves dressed as lambs. How can we unmask them? Jesus indicates a sure criterion: "You will know them by their fruits." False prophecies are all those suggestions and solicitations that make life sterile, incapable of producing good fruit either for oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul lists the works that arise from those who allow themselves to be led by the carnal spirit, that is, of self-love: fornication, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, enmities, discord, jealousy, dissensions, divisions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies. And immediately afterwards he lists those that flow from those who allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit, by the Gospel: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-mastery. And he closes, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit" (Gal 5:19-26).
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!
