EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Poor
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Poor
Monday, November 11


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

1 Maccabees 10, 1-21

In the year 160, Alexander, son of Antiochus Epiphanes, raised an army and occupied Ptolemais. He was well received, and there inaugurated his reign.

On hearing this, King Demetrius assembled a very large army and marched off to do battle with him.

Demetrius furthermore sent Jonathan a most conciliatory letter, promising to promote him in rank,

for, as he said, 'We had better move first to come to terms with these people before he makes common cause with Alexander against us;

he will not have forgotten all the wrongs we inflicted on him and his brothers, and on his nation.'

He even authorised him to raise an army, to manufacture arms, and to describe himself as his ally, and ordered the hostages in the Citadel to be surrendered to him.

Jonathan went straight to Jerusalem and read the letter in the hearing of the whole people and of the men in the Citadel.

They were terrified when they heard that the king had given him authority to raise an army.

The men in the Citadel surrendered the hostages to Jonathan, who handed them back to their parents.

Jonathan then took up residence in Jerusalem and began the rebuilding and restoration of the city.

He ordered those responsible for the work to build the walls and the defences round Mount Zion of squared stone blocks to make them stronger, and this was done.

The foreigners in the fortresses built by Bacchides abandoned them,

one after another leaving his post to go back to his own country.

Only at Beth-Zur were a few left of those who had forsaken the Law and the precepts, since this was their refuge.

King Alexander heard of all the promises Demetrius had sent to Jonathan, and he was also given an account of the battles and exploits of this man and his brothers and of the hardships they had endured.

'Shall we ever find another man like him?' he exclaimed. 'We must make him our friend and ally!'

He therefore wrote him a letter, addressing him in these terms:

'King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greetings.

'You have been brought to our notice as a strong man of action and as someone who deserves to be our friend.

Accordingly, we have today appointed you high priest of your nation, with the title of "Friend of the King" ' -- he also sent him a purple robe and a golden crown-'and you are to study our interests and maintain friendly relations with us.'

Jonathan put on the sacred vestments in the seventh month of the year 160, on the feast of Shelters; he then set about raising troops and manufacturing arms in quantity.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The tenth chapter opens with the arrival of a new character, a certain Alexander Balas, who lived in Izmir, on the border of the kingdom of Pergamum, who claimed to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Since he was urged on by the king of Pergamum, supported by the kingdoms of Cappadocia and Egypt as well as the Romans (all of which were interested in weakening the Seleucid Empire), Balas decided to enforce his alleged rights to the throne of Antioch. He reached Ptolemais where he was welcomed and supported by the many citizens who were dissatisfied with the severe government of Demetrius I and created many difficulties for him. Demetrius I, in fact, concerned about the danger that could arise from an alliance with Jonathan, hastened to gain for himself the support of the Jews by offering some honorary and military privileges: “So Demetrius gave him authority to recruit troops, to equip them with arms, and to become his ally; and he commanded that the hostages in the citadel should be released to him” (v. 6). Without showing his intentions too openly, Jonathan moved from Michmas to Jerusalem for the immediate implementation of the royal decree. Then he worked to rebuild the fortification wall that encircled the hill of the temple that had been demolished in the past by order of Antiochus IV and “began to rebuild and restore the city” (v. 10). He did not miss the chance to strengthen his power in Jerusalem. Many of the Gentiles, mostly merchants, who had settled in Jerusalem, seeing that Jonathan had regained power, left Jerusalem to return to their lands of origin. Once he was informed of the concessions made by Demetrius to the Jews, Alexander tried to overcome his rival with generosity by offering Jonathan the high priesthood that at that time was the supreme religious and civil authority of the Jewish people, as well as the title of “friend” of the king with the gift the purple and a golden crown. During the Festival of Booths of 152 BC, Jonathan wore for the first time the priestly vestments combining in himself both the civil and religious authorities. This event did not arouse reactions because Jonathan’s family belonged to one of the 24 priestly classes derived from Aaron. The Essenes, instead, considering that the acceptance by Jonathan of the priesthood position was improper, ceased to support the Maccabees and withdrew into the desert as a sign of protest. What seemed clear, however, was the new-found freedom of the Jewish people, under the leadership of Jonathan who had fought with intelligence so as to guarantee faith and the freedom to profess 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