EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Poor
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Poor
Monday, December 11


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

Luke 5,17-26

Now it happened that he was teaching one day, and Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from every village in Galilee, from Judaea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was there so that he should heal. And now some men appeared, bringing on a bed a paralysed man whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him. But as they could find no way of getting the man through the crowd, they went up onto the top of the house and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith he said, 'My friend, your sins are forgiven you.' The scribes and the Pharisees began to think this over. 'Who is this man, talking blasphemy? Who but God alone can forgive sins?' But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, made them this reply, 'What are these thoughts you have in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Get up and walk"? But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- he said to the paralysed man-'I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.' And immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God. They were all astounded and praised God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen strange things today.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke recounts this miracle while Jesus is surrounded by Pharisees and teachers of the law. The evangelist immediately notes that "the power of the Lord was with him to heal," that is, his mercy was revealing its power to change, to heal, and to create a festival among those who were healed and their friends. And this causes more than a few questions and concerns from those who trust in the law and the observance of rules as the paradigm of salvation. The healing of the paralyzed man brought before Jesus by his friends is fruit of their faith. The miracle comes about because of the faith of those friends: a faith made of love, tenacity, and perseverance. They wanted to bring their sick friend to Jesus, and when they see the crowd milling about the door, they open a hole in the roof in order to bring their friend to him. How much do we have to learn from their attitude! Often the friendship between us is superficial, sentimental, and resigned. And it only takes a little for us to forget each other. The friends of this paralyzed man did not act like this. Their example inspires us to care for everyone who is sick, poor, and defenceless with tenacity, perseverance, and love. We need to create an alliance of affection between the disciples and the poor, between the disciples and the sick. This particular alliance enables miracles to be performed. The Gospel teaches us that miracles begin when we put the sick at the centre, a centre that is not just physical, but of the heart. Seeing this faith, Jesus fully heals the paralyzed man, more than they had expected. Turning to the sick man, Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven." Jesus sees also the heart of the paralyzed man and his need to be forgiven. And he gives him full health, in both body and heart. As believers, we need to continue to do in our time the same thing that this group of friends did for their paralyzed friend. It is beautiful to be able to say that Christians are the friends of the poor, the sick, and the weak. This is the beginning of a change in the world, the one Jesus came to establish on earth.

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!