EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Church
Word of god every day

Memory of the Church

Memory of Sant'Egidio, a monk from the East who came to the West. He lived in France and became the father of many monks. The Community of Sant'Egidio took its name from the church dedicated to him in Rome. We remember the beginning of the Second World War and pray for the end to all wars. The Orthodox Church begins its liturgical year. Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church

Memory of Sant’Egidio, a monk from the East who came to the West. He lived in France and became the father of many monks. The Community of Sant’Egidio took its name from the church dedicated to him in Rome. We remember the beginning of the Second World War and pray for the end to all wars. The Orthodox Church begins its liturgical year.


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

Luke 5, 1-11

Now it happened that he was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God,

when he caught sight of two boats at the water's edge. The fishermen had got out of them and were washing their nets.

He got into one of the boats -- it was Simon's -- and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.'

Simon replied, 'Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.'

And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear,

so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled both boats to sinking point.

When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, 'Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.'

For he and all his companions were completely awestruck at the catch they had made;

so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. But Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on it is people you will be catching.'

Then, bringing their boats back to land they left everything and followed him.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus is surrounded by a crowd that presses on every side, desirous to hear his teachings. Jesus does not speak just in synagogues anymore; he considers it fitting - and not just because of the greater room — to communicate his Gospel in an open space, in the streets, the squares, and on the river banks. And it is in the heart of this ministry among the crowds that Jesus calls his first disciples, as if to stress the place and manner of the apostles’ mission of yesterday and today.
From Peter’s boat, Jesus teaches to the crowd; it is obviously not a random choice. The evangelist recalls this to highlight the task of the Church and of every Christian community throughout the centuries: to present anew Jesus’ teaching to every generation so that they hear it and be converted. After finishing speaking to the crowds, Jesus asks Simon to go out to sea and cast the nets. Simon and the others who were with him had been fishing all night and had not caught anything. Besides, Jesus was not with them, and without him, they could do nothing. Simon tells him: "Master, we have worked all night long but I have caught nothing." He was exhausted; and yet, he immediately added: "Yet, if you say so, I will let down the nets." He was tired - he had not understood everything - but he certainly had been struck by the teaching given to the crowd, and this is why he obeyed. Obedience doesn’t always mean you have understood everything; what is in any case required is trust, abandonment. Immediately following, a miraculous catch takes place. The evangelist notes: "When they had done this," - that is, having obeyed - "they caught a great quantity of fish." The catch was so great that they had to call the others to help. Simon Peter - the evangelist here adds his new name "Peter,"—in light of the miracle, kneels before Jesus. It is a gesture of amazement, but above all, of trustful abandon. The other three fishermen, Peter’s partners, were also seized by incredible amazement. Jesus, turning to Simon, tells him that he will become a fisher of human beings. All four left their nets and began to follow him. From that day, begins the story of that unique family, which is the Church. The Gospel continues to call for new members so that the nets of mercy are spread and no one is left out.

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