EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the apostles
Word of god every day

Memory of the apostles

Memory of St. Matthias the Apostle Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the apostles
Tuesday, May 14

Psalmody

Psalm 54

Antiphon

I cry to You Lord, save me.

O God, listen to my prayer,
do not hide from my pleading,

attend to me and reply;
with my cares, I cannot rest.

I tremble at the shouts of the foe,
at the cries of the wicked;

for they bring down evil upon me.
They assail me with fury.

My heart is stricken within me,
death's terror is on me,

trembling and fear fall upon me
and horror overwhelms me.

O that I had wings like a dove
to fly away and be at rest.

So I would escape far away
and take refuge in the desert.

I would hasten to find a shelter
from the raging wind,

from the destructive storm, O Lord,
and from their plotting tongues.

For I can see nothing but violence
and strife in the city.

Night and day they patrol
high on the city walls.

It is full of wickedness and evil;
it is full of sin.

Its streets are never free
from tyranny and deceit.

If this has been done by an enemy
I would bear his taunts.

If a rival had risen against me,
I could hide from him.

But it is you, my own companion,
my intimate friend!

(How close was the friendship between us)
We walked together in harmony
in the house of God.

May death fall suddenly upon them!
Let them go to the grave :

for wickedness dwells in their homes
and deep in their hearts.

As for me, I will cry to God
and the Lord will save me.

Evening, morning and at noon
I will cry and lament.

He will deliver my soul in peace
in the attack against me :

for those who fight me are many,
but he hears my voice.

God will hear and will humble them,
the eternal judge :

for they will not amend their ways.
They have no fear of God.

The traitor has turned against his friends;
he has broken his word.

His speech is softer than butter,
but war is in his heart.

His words are smoother than oil,
but they are naked swords.

Entrust your cares to the Lord
and he will support you.

He will never allow
the just man to stumble.

But you, O God, will bring them down
to the pit of death.

Deceitful and bloodthirsty men
shall not live half their days.
O Lord, I will trust in you.

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