EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Church
Word of god every day

Memory of the Church

Memory of Pope Saint Calixtus (+222). He was a friend to the poor and founded the house of prayer on which later would be built the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
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Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church

Memory of Pope Saint Calixtus (+222). He was a friend to the poor and founded the house of prayer on which later would be built the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.


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

Revelation 5,1-5

I saw that in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne there was a scroll that was written on back and front and was sealed with seven seals.

Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?'

But there was no one, in heaven or on the earth or under the earth, who was able to open the scroll and read it.

I wept bitterly because nobody could be found to open the scroll and read it,

but one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and so he will open the scroll and its seven seals.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

In the great heavenly throne room, the One seated on the throne holds in his right hand a book in the form of a scroll. It is God himself who holds the book (biblion in Greek), that is, the Word spoken to humanity. The scroll has writing on it on the inside, which is normal, and on the back, which is extraordinary. This indicates that the Word of God, the one Word, does not just have one meaning. Beyond its literal meaning, it has a deeper, spiritual meaning. This latter meaning is hidden to normal eyes and can only be read in the light of the Spirit, that is, in an atmosphere of prayer and listening. Without prayer, the book remains "sealed with seven seals." Yes, without the Spirit of God who opens the "scroll" to our mind’s eye, it remains like a sealed word that we cannot understand. Without a spiritual reading, the thought of God and the meaning of life remain hidden to the reader. This is why when John realizes that it is impossible to read the Word - there is no one to open the scroll - he is overcome by desperation and weeps bitterly. It is the lament of those who lose sight of the light and those who cannot find a source of inspiration for their lives. One is reminded of Mary weeping inconsolably in front of the empty tomb because she believes that she has lost her Lord. Compared to the coldness we often exhibit towards the Word of God and how forgetful we are of the living Jesus, Mary - who weeps even though she has only lost Jesus’ dead body - and John - who weeps because of the absence of the Word of God - show us what attitude every disciple should have towards the Lord. If we even let ourselves be moved a little when we hear these words, Jesus himself, the "Root of David," will come once again to open the "scroll and its seven seals" in order to teach us as he taught the disciples. Jesus promised the apostles that his spirit would lead them "into all the truth." It is the spirit that opens.

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