EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of Jesus crucified
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of Jesus crucified
Friday, March 21


Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Matthew 21, 33-45

'Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.

When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce.

But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third.

Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way.

Finally he sent his son to them thinking, "They will respect my son."

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance."

So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?'

They answered, 'He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time.'

Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this is the Lord's doing and we marvel at it?

'I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and givena people who will produce its fruit.'

When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them,

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

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

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

To those who listen to Jesus, the vineyard undoubtedly represents the people of Israel and God is the one who cares for it with incredible love. Well, Jesus said that when “the harvest had come,” the landowner sent his servants to collect his produce. The tenants’ reaction was violent: they seized and killed his servants. The landowner sent other servants and they suffered the same vexations. It is a tragic synthesis of the violent opposition (also outside the Jewish-Christian tradition) to the servants of God, to people of the Word (prophets), to the righteous and honest of any place and time by those who want to serve and pile up possessions for themselves only. But the Lord — and this is the real thread of hope that saves history — never loses patience. “Finally” the landowner sent his son. He thought, “They will respect my son.” But the fury of the tenants exploded; they grabbed him, took him “out of the vineyard” and killed him. Maybe these words were clear to Jesus alone when he pronounced them. Today we understand them well too: they describe the rejection to welcome Jesus not only by single individuals, but by the city itself. Jesus was born out of Bethlehem; he died out of Jerusalem. Jesus clearly and courageously denounces the infidelity that culminates with the rejection and murder of the last and final messenger of God. God expects the “fruits” from the “vineyard” and is “rewarded” with the killing of His son. But God does not resign. From that son new tenants are born, they will take care of the vineyard and bear new fruits. The new tenants become a new people. But their link is not given by the same blood or external bonds, even “religious” ones, but by being in the Father’s love. The evangelist keeps on telling us that no one can claim rights of property: everything is a gift from the gratuitous love of god. The new people are qualified by the “fruits” of the Gospel. This means by faith which is at the root of the works of mercy and justice. In other words, fruits are faithfulness to God’s love and to His Gospel. As it is written, “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit” (Jn 15:2); and also, “You will know them by their fruits” (Mt 7:16).

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