Memorial of the first martyrs of the Roman Church during persecution of Nero.

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

Genesis 18,16-33

From there the men set out and arrived within sight of Sodom, with Abraham accompanying them to speed them on their way. Now Yahweh had wondered, 'Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do, as Abraham will become a great and powerful nation and all nations on earth will bless themselves by him? For I have singled him out to command his sons and his family after him to keep the way of Yahweh by doing what is upright and just, so that Yahweh can carry out for Abraham what he has promised him.' Then Yahweh said, 'The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grave, that I shall go down and see whether or not their actions are at all as the outcry reaching me would suggest. Then I shall know.' While the men left there and went to Sodom, Yahweh remained in Abraham's presence. Abraham stepped forward and said, 'Will you really destroy the upright with the guilty? Suppose there are fifty upright people in the city. Will you really destroy it? Will you not spare the place for the sake of the fifty upright in it? Do not think of doing such a thing: to put the upright to death with the guilty, so that upright and guilty fare alike! Is the judge of the whole world not to act justly?' Yahweh replied, 'If I find fifty upright people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place because of them.' Abraham spoke up and said, 'It is presumptuous of me to speak to the Lord, I who am dust and ashes: Suppose the fifty upright were five short? Would you destroy the whole city because of five?' 'No,' he replied, 'I shall not destroy it if I find forty-five there.' Abraham persisted and said, 'Suppose there are forty to be found there?' 'I shall not do it,' he replied, 'for the sake of the forty.' Abraham said, 'I hope the Lord will not be angry if I go on: Suppose there are only thirty to be found there?' 'I shall not do it,' he replied, 'if I find thirty there.' He said, 'It is presumptuous of me to speak to the Lord: Suppose there are only twenty there?' 'I shall not destroy it,' he replied, 'for the sake of the twenty.' He said, 'I trust my Lord will not be angry if I speak once more: perhaps there will only be ten.' 'I shall not destroy it,' he replied, 'for the sake of the ten.' When he had finished talking to Abraham Yahweh went away, and Abraham returned home.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" God feels that he cannot act without confiding to his friend the important decisions he is about to make about human affairs. He wants Abraham to participate directly in his plan of salvation. The cry over the corruption into which Sodom and Gomorrah had fallen had risen loudly to heaven. And God, as we often read in the psalms, heard the cry of the poor oppressed by evil and violence. He therefore decided to destroy the two cities, which had become symbols of evil and injustice. But when he confides his plan to his friend, Abraham has a jolt of compassion and defence for the doomed city. And he intercedes with such insistence with his Friend that he convinces him to desist from his plan. It is a long, skilful, persevering intercession.
Six times he insists to the Lord not to destroy the city and with it also the righteous who inhabit it, no matter how few. The number of the righteous that Abraham proposes is reduced to ten. And God is ready to forgive the whole city out of regard for even ten righteous ones! It is a page that shows first of all the power of prayer that can even change God's own decision. We must be more aware of the great power of prayer that we have: God can intervene to destroy violence and evil and save our cities. There is a need - and this is another lesson from this Bible page - to pray to the Lord for the cities of this world of ours, so often marked by corruption and conflict. Christians - even if they are few, as in today's megacities - can nevertheless curb the violence of evil with their prayers. This is a decisive ministry in our time: the common prayer of Christians for our cities brings fruits of peace and concord.