EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of Jesus crucified
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of Jesus crucified
Friday, September 7


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

Luke 6, 20-26

Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall have your fill. Blessed are you who are weeping now: you shall laugh.

'Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of man.

Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look!-your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.

Alas for you who have plenty to eat now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who are laughing now: you shall mourn and weep.

'Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This Gospel narrative according to Luke takes us today to one of the most significant pages of the Gospel: the beatitudes. Jesus has before his eyes not only the Twelve but also the disciples, that is, the broader group of men and women who followed him and the people who ran to hear him. And he immediately takes up the word to teach them. He does not deliver an abstract speech; he does not present a lofty doctrine which goes over the people’s heads. He wants to show those disciples his way so that they can pursue happiness. It is not the same way indicated by the run-of-the-mill mentality which reveals itself to be false and deceiving. How many times, in fact, have we experienced ourselves the failure of so many false myths! And we see around us men and women who seek happiness by following paths which in truth lead to the destruction of life itself. Jesus, moved by God’s loving compassion for humanity, wants to show without wasting too many words his path that leads to happiness. Four sentences, we could say, are enough for him, four beatitudes. Jesus announces to the poor, the hungry, the abandoned, and those who thirst for justice that God has chosen to stand by them. This is why they are "blessed," precisely because they are loved by God and preferred by Him. The closeness of God and of the disciples is a great joy for the poor. They, up to now excluded from life, will be the privileged ones, the favourites. Their beatitude, their happiness, obviously does not flow out of their sad and precarious condition in life. It is not pretty to be poor, or to be afflicted, or to be hungry, or to be insulted. They are blessed because God has chosen to be first of all with them over the others. And Jesus manifests this personally, by his example. We believers have been entrusted with the most serious and fascinating task of making the poor and the weak feel God’s preferential love as Jesus did during his whole life. The rich, the satisfied, the strong should beware, because it is more difficult for them to be happy. With those "woe to you" Jesus warns them about seeking happiness in love for oneself and for riches. The way to happiness for the rich is by spending their life for the poor and the weak.

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