EVERYDAY PRAYER

Prayer for the sick
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Prayer for the sick
Monday, October 6


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

Luke 10, 25-37

And now a lawyer stood up and, to test him, asked, 'Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?'

He replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.'

Jesus said to him, 'You have answered right, do this and life is yours.'

But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?'

In answer Jesus said, 'A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead.

Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan traveller who came on him was moved with compassion when he saw him.

He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.

Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper and said, "Look after him, and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have."

Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits' hands?'

He replied, 'The one who showed pity towards him.' Jesus said to him, 'Go, and do the same yourself.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This parable is one of the best-known passages in the Gospel. Especially at the beginning of this new millennium, it gives an accurate picture of the reality of our world and clearly traces out the vocation of the Christian community and each individual disciple. The man left half-dead by the side of the road represents all of the poor (individuals and even entire nations) who are still pushed to the margins of life and abandoned there. There are millions and millions of these people. The Gospel teaches us to see this half-dead man abandoned by everyone as the brother of our Lord and our friend. Yes, all of the disinherited of the earth - all of the poor - are brothers and sisters of the Lord and brothers and sisters of every one of us. It is a lesson for all Christians, but now more than ever it would be good for those who have administrative and political responsibilities to hear it. For us Christians, however, before being a problem, the poor are our brothers and sisters and our friends. And it is not a matter of being “do-gooders,” as is sometimes said in a condescending tone, but rather of seeing with God’s own eyes, something that human beings have difficulty in imitating. We Christians are often just as guilty as everyone else. Through the example of the Samaritan, a foreigner to this half-dead man, the Gospel urges us to discover the value of universal brotherhood, which is not only moral but also deeply human and religious. It is a matter of feeling that the weak and the poor are members of God’s family. We could say that they are our relatives, and we should treat them as such. This attitude contains the seed of a radical disruption, which was planted by God himself: He has chosen the poor to be his favoured children. He listens to them, protects them, and makes them intercessors for those who help them. Jesus identifies himself in them, as is written in the account of the universal judgment in Matthew’s gospel. Indeed, we could say that the Samaritan and the half-dead man share a certain identity. The Samaritan is Jesus himself; he is the one who sets out from Jerusalem and walks along the roads that lead to the many Jerichos of our world. He is the first one who stops, and he urges others to do the same. And every time we stop by the side of the poor, as that Samaritan did, we find ourselves face to face with Jesus, even if at first he bears the features of an abandoned person. At the moment of judgment at the end of our life, if not sooner, we will see in Jesus’ face the features of the abandoned person we helped.

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