Memorial of the Saints Addai and Mari, founders of the Chaldean church. Prayer for Christians in Iraq. Read more
Memorial of the Saints Addai and Mari, founders of the Chaldean church. Prayer for Christians in Iraq.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Sirach 42, 15-25
Next, I shall remind you of the works of the Lord, and tell of what I have seen. By the words of the Lord his works come into being and all creation obeys his will.
The shining sun looks down on all things, and the work of the Lord is full of his glory.
The Lord has not granted the Holy Ones the power to tell of all his marvels which the Almighty Lord has solidly constructed for the universe to stand firm in his glory.
He has fathomed both the abyss and the human heart and seen into their devious ways; for the Most High knows all there is to know and sees the signs of the times.
He declares what is past and what will be, and reveals the trend of hidden things.
Not a thought escapes him, not a single word is hidden from him.
He has embellished the magnificent works of his wisdom, he is from everlasting to everlasting, nothing can be added to him, nothing taken away, he needs no one's advice.
How lovely, all his works, how dazzling to the eye!
They all live and last for ever, and, whatever the circumstances, all obey.
All things go in pairs, by opposites, he has not made anything imperfect:
one thing complements the excellence of another. Who could ever grow tired of gazing at his glory?
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The psalmist sings, "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork" (Ps 19: 2). The believer recognizes that nature reflects the glory of God and that the works of creation declare the goodness of the Creator. Nature is not in fact a tool in the hands of humanity, but an expression of God's love. The Creator's love is so great that it cannot remain closed in itself; it is by nature expansive, that is, it projects itself outside of itself, it begins new realities, it brings into existence that which did not exist, and it calls forth life where there was nothing fertile. Creation refers to the Creator, just as a work of art refers to the artist. There is no beauty without the will of the One who created it. Creation, as is stated in the book of Genesis (1:2) began with the Word: the light appears when God calls it into existence, and the shadows appear as such because the light reveals the darkness and its intrinsic limits. And what happens with light is repeated with the rest of creation. All things exist because God called them into being so that together they might form the place where human beings could live. Consequently, nature becomes a school in which men and women can contemplate the glory of God and his love. In this sense, men and women, created in God's image, become the great interpreters of creation, called to keep watch over it so that it may always be a place of peace and a garden of love for all. It is within the context of creation - that is, of nature - that the story to which the sacred author alludes unfolds: "For the Most High knows all that may be known; he sees from of old the things that are to come. He discloses what has been and what is to be, and he reveals the traces of hidden things. No thought escapes him, and nothing is hidden from him." It is God who guides history. Human beings are called to participate in keeping watch over and transforming creation along with God, who is its Lord. Human beings are not the creators, but the stewards. Humanity has a great responsibility: both to contemplate the beauty of the creation made by God and to work to make the created world ever closer to the plan that God inscribed in the depths of creation itself. ?
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!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
