EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Saints and the Prophets
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Saints and the Prophets
Wednesday, February 19


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Mark 8, 22-26

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man whom they begged him to touch.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then, putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, 'Can you see anything?'

The man, who was beginning to see, replied, 'I can see people; they look like trees as they walk around.'

Then he laid his hands on the man's eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly.

And Jesus sent him home, saying, 'Do not even go into the village.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Before Peter’s profession of faith, Mark places the healing of a blind man. We are towards the end of the first part of the Gospel, in which Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah, sent by God to begin his kingdom. The miracles he performed have been a sign of it. But the disciples are struggling to understand and see. A new miracle of Jesus is needed so that their eyes may be opened and they may begin to see. The story is basic. They lead a blind man to Jesus and “begged him to touch him.” Prayer is often the beginning of the miracle. Those people know that just the contact with Jesus is enough for healing. But Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. It seems that Jesus wants to be alone with this man. He does not want publicity. He wants to help him regain his sight by taking him along. We assist in an unusual way a progression in healing, as if Jesus wanted to show that there is no sudden cure for blindness. At first he laid his hands on him, after putting saliva on his eyes, and he asked, “Can you see anything?” The man replied, “I can see people, but they look like trees walking.” How difficult it is to see the others. We are so used to looking at ourselves that we struggle to recognize our neighbours, and when we do, they appear blurred and unrecognizable. Yes, we are still all a bit short-sighted. Our neighbours, especially when they are in need, remain mostly a blurry and distant reality. But Jesus does not give up; on the contrary he knows that he must continue to lay his hands on us so that we may see. “Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” The Word of God that we hear every day is like Jesus’ hands that help us see and understand. We need to see with Jesus’ eyes, we need to learn to look with mercy and compassion, as Jesus looked at the hungry crowd that followed him. Only in this way will we be healed of our blindness and able to help others to see. Open the eyes of our heart, Lord, that we may see you and recognize you as our Lord, so we can see and care for others.

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