EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Tuesday, February 18


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Mark 8, 14-21

The disciples had forgotten to take any bread and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

Then he gave them this warning, 'Keep your eyes open; look out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.'

And they said to one another, 'It is because we have no bread.'

And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, 'Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not understand, still not realise? Are your minds closed?

Have you eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear? Or do you not remember?

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' They answered, 'Twelve.'

'And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' And they answered, 'Seven.'

Then he said to them, 'Do you still not realise?'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The evangelist is narrating one of the many crossings of the lake that Jesus made with his disciples. But this time -- as if to focus attention on Jesus, the true bread of life – he notes that the disciples had forgotten to take bread enough for all: “They had only one loaf with them in the boat.” This bread, Mark seems to say, is Jesus. But when we are caught up in ourselves, and in our own discussions and complaints, we do not realize this, because we are much more interested in something else. And the evangelist mentions a discussion that arose between them as to who was to blame for the oversight. But Jesus intervened on the matter and used it for a new teaching. They think that Jesus wants to intervene in their internal disputes, as if Jesus were some sort of moderator of their ridiculous arguments. The Master does not descend to their level: in fact he had called them so that they may not remain prisoners of their small horizons or their foolish disputes, but rather that they may be involved in his dream of changing the world and shown a horizon of compassion for the crowds that are weary and scattered. He rebuked them, “Why are you talking about having no bread?” And the disciples probably look a bit surprised and amazed as if he were delirious, as we often do when we face the extraordinary words of the Gospel. In fact, they had not yet understood: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?” Jesus unites in a direct way eyes, ears and heart. But the heart is the source of both sight and hearing. For if the heart is hardened, we cannot see or hear. We need to have an open heart, a heart not full of itself, not poisoned by pride and self-sufficiency, in order to understand what is happening in the Gospel. We need also to “remember” the works and miracles of God to be able to understand the presence of Jesus, who is the bread of eternal life. The disciples had the true bread with them but did not realize it. This was true not only as a symbol but in a very real way. Jesus reminds them of the miracle of the multiplication of the bread he had just performed. Jesus satiates both the body and the heart. This is the meaning of the Eucharistic celebration, but also the meaning of listening to the Gospel as we do every day. We need to remember what Jesus said, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4: 4).

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