EVERYDAY PRAYER

Sunday Vigil
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Sunday Vigil
Saturday, September 27


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 9, 44-45

'For your part, you must have these words constantly in mind: The Son of man is going to be delivered into the power of men.'

But they did not understand what he said; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This Gospel passage presents the second declaration of the passion, death and resurrection. In a way, Jesus is forced to repeat it. Indeed, the moment of death and resurrection represents his “time”—his time of glory which passes through the cross. But it was really difficult for the disciples to understand such a topic. Like all Jews of the time, they were not able to accept the figure of a Messiah as servant or worse--defeated. They were waiting for a victorious Messiah, victorious in the way of the world, or victorious over enemies. They awaited a liberator of Israel from its slavery to enemies. Such an idea found comfort in the healing of a young man freed from an evil spirit. The amazement that is provoked pushed Jesus to gather the disciples and to clarify yet again which was his way. And again he insists: “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” The insistence in saying: “Let these words sink into your years...” seems to want to force the hardness of the disciples’ minds in understanding his true identity. He warns them strongly not to let themselves be deceived by the admiration that everyone has for him, because a humiliating and painful death awaits him. To be “betrayed into human hands,” in biblical language means it will be the painful and cruel fate of a person abandoned by God and left in the power of human judges. And in effect, it will happen thus. But despite such clarity—the evangelist highlights—the disciples do not understand. It is a situation that we can apply to ourselves who so often are distant just as the disciples were back then, distant from Jesus’ thoughts, from his worries and above all from the sense that he had of himself and of his mission. And this happens not by taking sides but because of that sense of self sufficient pride which prevents us from opening the mind and heart to the mystery of Jesus. The problem is very serious for Jesus. It is not that the disciples do not understand his words, but they risk not understanding the very substance of his mission: that salvation comes through his death. On the other hand, how can one accept a defeated Messiah? This is scandalous for the Jews and folly for the pagans, the apostle Paul will say. And also for us today, such a path continues to be senseless. And yet—Jesus affirms this with us too—it is from the cross that salvation is born; it is from a love that knows no limits from which comes the freedom of men and women from the slavery of sin. Not in human power is salvation achieved, but only on the path of love for everyone, a love that reaches far enough to give its life for its enemies. The evangelist notes that the disciples continue to not understand Jesus’ words: “They remained mysterious things which they did not understand.” And they remained in silence, without asking further explanations. It is an attitude of hardness and mistrust. They do not accept their ignorance and prefer to remain in the dark. But Jesus does not abandon them. He continues to teach them, in the hope that little by little they understand the Gospel. And so also for us to today. It is necessary, however, to continue to allow ourselves to be guided and taught.

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