EVERYDAY PRAYER

Sunday Vigil
Word of god every day

Sunday Vigil

Memory of Mary Salome, the mother of James and John, who followed the Lord to the cross and placed him the tomb. Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Sunday Vigil

Memory of Mary Salome, the mother of James and John, who followed the Lord to the cross and placed him the tomb.


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 13, 1-9

It was just about this time that some people arrived and told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them,

'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than any others, that this should have happened to them?

They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.

Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, killing them all? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem?

They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.'

He told this parable, 'A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none.

He said to his vinedresser, "For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?"

"Sir," the man replied, "leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it:

it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down." '

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus has just finished speaking to the crowd and some people come to tell him about the massacre Pilate had ordered of several Jews who had perhaps attempted an insurrection. This episode provides Jesus with the occasion to say that the evil that happens to us is not a direct consequence of our guilt. Jesus affirms that it would be wrong to think these Jews were somehow guiltier than others who were spared. In order to clarify his point, Jesus recalls another event, one that seems more like a natural disaster: when people died as a result of the collapse of the tower of Siloam. It is not God who sends evil or who permits disasters or massacres. On the contrary, God has been struggling against evil from the very beginning, for as long as he has been present in human history. God asks every human being, and in particular the disciples of the Gospel, to become involved in the difficult battle against wickedness and the prince of evil who does not stop pushing creation towards destruction. Thus, we are called to conversion, to follow the Gospel with our whole heart and all our strength, in order to be near to Jesus, who came into the world to defeat evil and bring liberation and salvation to all, even to creation. The little parable that Jesus adds demonstrates the value of intercession. Often we come up against situations that seem difficult to change or that despite all of our efforts always remain more or less the same. These situations are similar to that of the fig tree in the Gospel that does not bear fruit. The owner of the fig tree has tried to get fruit from it for three years, but he has never had any success. Irritated, he goes to the gardener to tell him to cut it down so that it will no longer uselessly deplete the soil. The language of the parable does not require that we literally take that attitude as being the same as that of God. Rather, on the contrary, we should see that such impatience as is had by petty bosses is what characterizes us: how often do we behave with a stingy heart, precisely like little cruel bosses without love and understanding! The vine-dresser, who by being with that plant has even learned to love it, begs the master to let him yet again dig up and fertilize the ground. He is certain that the fig tree will bear fruit. Jesus urges us to have patience, that is, to continue to stay near the fig tree, surrounding it with kindness so that it can mature and bear fruit. We need to learn from God to be as patient as he is, because God knows how to hope for all. God does not quench the smouldering wick but carefully accompanies the weak to make them stronger and to help them to contribute their love.

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