EVERYDAY PRAYER

Liturgy of the Sunday
Word of god every day

Liturgy of the Sunday

Third Sunday of Easter Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Liturgy of the Sunday
Sunday, April 18

Third Sunday of Easter


First Reading

Acts 3,13-15.17-19

It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus whom you handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after he had given his verdict to release him. It was you who accused the Holy and Upright One, you who demanded that a murderer should be released to you while you killed the prince of life. God, however, raised him from the dead, and to that fact we are witnesses; 'Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; but this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer. Now you must repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,

Psalmody

Psalm 4

Antiphon

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord.

When I call, answer me O God of justice;
from anguish you released me,
have mercy and hear me!

O men, how long will your hearts be closed,
will you love what is futile and seek what is false?

It is the Lord who grants favours to those whom he loves;
the Lord hears me whenever I call him.

Fear him; do not sin:
ponder on your bed and be still.

Make justice your sacrifice
and trust in the Lord.

'What can bring us happiness?' many say
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.

You have put into my heart a greater joy
than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Second Reading

1 John 2,1-5a

My children, I am writing this to prevent you from sinning; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the upright. He is the sacrifice to expiate our sins, and not only ours, but also those of the whole world. In this way we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, 'I know him' without keeping his commandments, is a liar, and truth has no place in him. But anyone who does keep his word, in such a one God's love truly reaches its perfection. This is the proof that we are in God.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 24,35-48

Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread. They were still talking about all this when he himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you!' In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, 'Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts? See by my hands and my feet that it is I myself. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.' And as he said this he showed them his hands and his feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes. Then he told them, 'This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, was destined to be fulfilled.' He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

The Gospel we heard brings us back to the evening of Easter. It is the last page of the Gospel of Luke. The two disciples of Emmaus return with haste to Jerusalem and tell the disciples what happened to them.
That first evening of Easter Day Jesus entered behind closed doors and placed himself in the midst of the disciples. They were frightened to see him. They were talking about him and yet they did not recognize him. Jesus immediately gave them peace. They were confused, doubtful, incredulous, stubbornly attached to their convictions. They needed that peace! So do we. The Lord's peace is communion, it is joy of living, it is a new heart that regenerates and restores life and hope. Peace is also the gift of a people with whom we can live the dream of Jesus who died and rose again. They cling to their doubts. There is a subtle temptation in doubt that becomes the way not to ever choose, and to nurture an inner reservation. Doubt comes on its own, but when we cultivate and entertain it, it ends up making us believe ourselves to be smart and intelligent, and saddens us. Then Jesus is like a ghost, and ghosts scare us. They are unreal and intangible presences. Jesus appeared several times to the disciples, in "flesh and bones" and even eats with them. Jesus wants them to understand the mystery of God's mercy and stays with them explaining what Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms said about him. And thus their doubts and uncertainties melt. Freed from fear and apprehension, they can be finally entrusted by Jesus with his own mission: that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Jesus was breaking down the walls of that room and sending them to all peoples. Jesus' universal dream has been clear since the day of Easter. Before bidding them farewell, Jesus says to them: "You are witnesses of these things." This is the first time that the Gospel of Luke uses the term "witnesses" in relation to the disciples. The experience of Easter has transformed them into disciples who hope and believe that death is conquered and that every wound can be healed. It is the testimony that the Church hands down from generation to generation, and that it is also entrusted to us. The Risen Lord wants us to be passionate witnesses and not uncertain and prudent officials; he wants us joyful witnesses and not fearful disciples protected by closed doors; witnesses who live what they communicate and who learn to live it by communicating.

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