EVERYDAY PRAYER

Prayer for peace
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Prayer for peace
Thursday, May 17


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Ephesians 1, 15-23

That is why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all God's holy people,

have never failed to thank God for you and to remember you in my prayers.

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.

May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people,

and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power

at work in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven,

far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as he is above all things, the head of the Church;

which is his Body, the fullness of him who is filled, all in all.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul thanks God for the faith of the Ephesians and also for the fraternal love they have for one another. The community of Ephesus, which he especially cares for, is the object of his prayers. For the Ephesians he asks for the gift of the Spirit so that they may be led to a profound understanding of the mystery of God. In fact, only the Spirit guides the hearts of the faithful to intimacy with God. The work of the Spirit, in effect, consists in having the "eyes of your heart enlightened." In other words, it consists in communicating to the faithful that type of knowledge which cannot be derived from natural logic but only from obedience to the Word of God. From this "obedient" relationship with Holy Scripture, the Ephesians can understand "the hope to which he has called you," meaning the extent to which believers can aim. The apostle is aware of the "riches of his glorious inheritance" that are reserved for us. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget or, rather, we do not live by this truth. Paul broadens his gaze to the "saints," that is, to the universal Church of heaven and earth: the angels and the deceased, who already partake of the divine glory, and those to whom we are united in our journey toward the final destination. We are all covered with the power of God, manifested in its fullness through the resurrection of Jesus (v. 20): God has put death under his feet and regenerated the faithful to life. Throughout the history of Israel, the Lord had prepared the resurrection of Jesus, the greatest eschatological act. Following Jesus’ resurrection, God placed him at His right hand where he rules over the cosmic powers. Our culture no longer talks about beings that inhabit heaven, as those who lived in ancient times spontaneously believed Nonetheless, the "rule and authority" and the "power and dominion" that so embitter the lives of many people are still present in our world. Recognizing the supremacy of Christ means giving back to the world its true face of "creation." This in turn aims at welcoming everyone and at giving to humankind the freedom of loving and being loved. The apostle in speaking of the Church as the "body of Christ" means the universal Church. But if Christ is proclaimed Lord of the cosmos and of the Church, only the Church is called his Body; only the Church has a privileged relationship with the Lord. That is, only in the Church is the sovereignty of the Resurrected One clear and effective. Paul, the apostle, defines this relationship as the "pleroma," that is, the fullness. The Church, even with all the limitations of its members, is rich with the fullness of Christ who lives in it.

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