This evening we visited the Community of Sant'Egidio (Sant'Egidio = S. Giles; description also from Wikipedia) near S. Maria in Trastevere. One of the members of the Community, a man named Paolo, gave us a description of the Community, how it was formed, and what it does. It has three key elements: prayer, service to the poor, and community, but they are also rooted in other areas of Christian discipleship. Paolo had a wonderful joy about him as he discussed the Community. The founder, Andrea Riccardi, was only 18-years-old when he formed it in 1968. The Community's relationship with their bishop, the Pope, has gradually grown over the years, from Paul VI to Francis. B. John Paul II was instrumental in the Community's established relationship with the Pope, and Benedict XVI often visited them (visiting them more time during his pontificate than B. John Paul II).
After he fielded some questions from us, he lead us to the Basilica of S. Maria, where there was a prayer service at 20.30 (8:30pm). It was in Italian and very similar to what we pray from the Liturgy of the Hours. This week begins an ecumenical effort at Christian unity (mostly rooted in prayer), and there was a homily from an invited Christian brother. He spoke (in Italian, but translated in English in our headsets), of the Gospel passage read (1 Cor 1:11-16), where the Christians in Corinth were divided by different names. He then applied that to today, when he stated that Christians are still divided (in names other than Jesus Christ) but also united (in the name of Jesus Christ). It was an interesting homily, and good content for us to reflect on.
Post by Dn. Grant Gerlach.
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