EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Church
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church
Thursday, September 19


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

1 Timothy 4,12-16

Let no one disregard you because you are young, but be an example to all the believers in the way you speak and behave, and in your love, your faith and your purity. Until I arrive, devote yourself to reading to the people, encouraging and teaching. You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you; do not neglect it. Let this be your care and your occupation, and everyone will be able to see your progress. Be conscientious about what you do and what you teach; persevere in this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul tells Timothy that no one should have contempt for his youth (he was about 30, and had been with Paul for 13 years). Because of his age, there is probably someone who does not consider him much. Yet, in the Christian community it is very evident that authority does not depend on age. Rather it depends on encountering the Lord and conversion to the Gospel. Paul encourages Timothy to set an example "in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." This spiritual elevation would confer him the authority to lead the community wisely. Paul has already communicated his intention to reach him as soon as possible (3:14), so he suggests that Timothy attend to his service until he arrives, through the reading of the Holy Bible in the assemblies of the church. Exhortation and teaching are linked to reading, to allowing the Word to reach the heart of the life of the community. Yet, Timothy needs the help of the Lord to speak authoritatively and to teach the Gospel. So, Paul reminds Timothy of the gift he has received by the laying on of hands of the apostle and the collegium of the elders. Paul urges Timothy to take care of these matters; indeed the apostle insists: "Devote yourself to them." Doing so, he will grow in wisdom and witness, and his "all may see his progress." Paul encourages Timothy to learn Holy Scripture deeply and to live it every day. If he grows in the knowledge of Scripture and in the Lord's love, he will be authoritative enough to lead the community. His salvation, as well as the salvation of the community depends on his discipline, his good example and his communication of the Gospel.

WORD OF GOD EVERY DAY: THE CALENDAR

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!

WORD OF GOD EVERY DAY: THE CALENDAR