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
Exodus 14,5-18
When Pharaoh king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their attitude towards the people. 'What have we done,' they said, 'allowing Israel to leave our service?' So Pharaoh had his chariot harnessed and set out with his troops, taking six hundred of the best chariots and all the other chariots in Egypt, with officers in each. Yahweh made Pharaoh king of Egypt stubborn, and he gave chase to the Israelites. The Israelites marched confidently away, but the Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, his horsemen and his army, gave chase and caught up with them where they lay encamped beside the sea near Pi-Hahiroth, facing Baal-Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up -- and there were the Egyptians in pursuit of them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to Yahweh for help. To Moses they said, 'Was it for lack of graves in Egypt, that you had to lead us out to die in the desert? What was the point of bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you as much in Egypt? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! We prefer to work for the Egyptians than to die in the desert!' Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid! Stand firm, and you will see what Yahweh will do to rescue you today: the Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Yahweh will do the fighting for you; all you need to do is to keep calm.' Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Why cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to march on. Your part is to raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can walk through the sea on dry ground, while I, for my part, shall make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them, and I shall win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, chariots and horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and horsemen, the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The passage of the Red Sea divides history into before and after. A parallel story will be that of the crossing of the Jordan River (see Josh 1:10-18; Ps 114). The text shows God's strength in the face of Egyptian power. It is the Word of God addressed to Moses that moves events. The people listen to the words of Moses and begin their escape from Egypt by taking the direction that would lead them to Palestine. Pharaoh, angered by both the loss of precious labour and the humiliation that this escape represented, immediately organised a chase to catch the Jews and lead them back to Egypt. The people of Israel, truly small in the face of Egypt's power, upon seeing themselves pursued and almost caught up with the Egyptians, are overcome with fear. And they cry out to the Lord their lament and to Moses their protest. They have lost confidence in the power of God and feel lost at the mercy of the enemy. The way of freedom, the choice of following God is always a struggle and always requires the conversion of one's heart, that is, putting one's trust in God. How often do we give up when faced with the first difficulties! The people, seeing themselves pursued from behind by the Egyptians and in front by the Red Sea, now feel lost. And they lash out at Moses. But the Lord intervenes again: he also rebukes Moses who had allowed himself to be led astray by the cries of the people of Israel and orders that they all resume their journey. The Lord who had brought them out of Egypt would not abandon them. And the text shows God's miraculous intervention. "But you," God says to Moses, "lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may enter the sea on dry ground. And he alludes to the defeat of the Egyptians: this too would be God's work. What appeared impossible, God would accomplish. And Israel could move towards freedom.
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
