EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Mother of the Lord


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Revelation 3,14-22

'Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea and say, "Here is the message of the Amen, the trustworthy, the true witness, the Principle of God's creation:

I know about your activities: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other,

but since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.

You say to yourself: I am rich, I have made a fortune and have everything I want, never realising that you are wretchedly and pitiably poor, and blind and naked too.

I warn you, buy from me the gold that has been tested in the fire to make you truly rich, and white robes to clothe you and hide your shameful nakedness, and ointment to put on your eyes to enable you to see.

I reprove and train those whom I love: so repent in real earnest.

Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person's side.

Anyone who proves victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I have myself overcome and have taken my seat with my Father on his throne.

Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." '

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the last of the seven letters, and, in a way, it summarizes them all. Laodicea was a very rich city, full of banks and shopping districts. Positioned on the commercial routes running to the countries of the East, the city of Laodicea lived in luxury, with a relaxed and selfish attitude. The Christian community, which had let itself be contaminated by this climate, receives a violent attack from Jesus, "the faithful and true witness" and "the origin of God’s creation." Today, we also, find ourselves in a profoundly secular society; there are those who speak of a "world that has left God behind." And in fact, in a civilization founded on well-being, God is ignored more often than he is opposed. It is true that there has been a notable rebirth of religions, but this does not keep people from effectively organizing their daily lives with little or no consideration of either God or the Gospel. If there is a common denominator that runs through all the people of the world, it is the unbridled growth of selfishness and the consequent violence that pervades every aspect of life. Turned in on themselves and totally dominated by the egocentric mood of this world, Christian communities risk being overwhelmed by a mundane climate that no longer offers any signs or hopes. By adjusting to the world, Christians deprive themselves of the paradoxes and singularities that are inherent in the Gospel and that they should be manifesting, as underlined in the Letter to Diognetus. They should not be in the world in such a way that they run the risk of becoming like the world. If we are not troubled, if we do not get upset, and if we do not question ourselves, not only will we not oppose evil, but we will let ourselves be dragged into banality and ineffectiveness. We will be neither hot nor cold. The Gospel demands that we grow in love, compassion, and solidarity. Jesus himself continues to make himself a beggar for love today and says to each one of us: "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking." There are poor and weak people, individuals and entire countries, who are all standing at our door and knocking. Blessed are those communities and blessed are those Christians who open up and welcome them. In receiving them, they receive Jesus and by sharing a meal with them, they eat with Jesus himself. But the truth of the scene is actually the opposite: we are not the ones who welcome Jesus; He is the one who welcomes us in the poor and weak and places us on his own throne, the throne of love. It is with these gestures that the kingdom of God begins its path on earth, as is often repeated in the Gospels.

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