EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Church
Word of god every day

Memory of the Church

Memorial of Sant'Egidio (Saint Giles), a monk who came to the West. He lived in France and became the father of many monks. The Community of Sant'Egidio took its name from the church dedicated to him in Rome. We remember the beginning of the Second World War and pray for the end to all wars. The Orthodox Church begins its liturgical year. Word day of prayer for the care of creation. Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church
Thursday, September 1

Memorial of Sant’Egidio (Saint Giles), a monk who came to the West. He lived in France and became the father of many monks. The Community of Sant’Egidio took its name from the church dedicated to him in Rome. We remember the beginning of the Second World War and pray for the end to all wars. The Orthodox Church begins its liturgical year. Word day of prayer for the care of creation.


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

1 Corinthians 3,18-23

There is no room for self-delusion. Any one of you who thinks he is wise by worldly standards must learn to be a fool in order to be really wise. For the wisdom of the world is folly to God. As scripture says: He traps the crafty in the snare of their own cunning and again: The Lord knows the plans of the wise and how insipid they are. So there is to be no boasting about human beings: everything belongs to you, whether it is Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, the world, life or death, the present or the future -- all belong to you; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

"All things are yours," the Apostle writes twice in just two verses. This truth might seem somewhat exaggerated, or at least abstract, in the eyes of those who struggle to obtain a bit of human glory, trying to earn it either through their strength or their wits. It is a vain effort to build for ourselves, because everything that is worth having is already in our hands, because we have already received everything from God. True wisdom is recognizing this gift that we have received: "For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you." Yes, everything is ours. Indeed we have been given - for free - the entire treasure of salvation. It is not the fruit of our efforts or our conquests; it is not something we can boast about. We need to be careful not to deceive ourselves. This temptation often shows its face in the hearts and minds of believers. We have been given everything by God: the Gospel of love, our brothers and sisters in the Church, and with them our future and the future of the world. True wisdom is to accept this mystery from God for the entire world, a mystery in which we can take part because of grace. It is a mystery we must welcome, preserve, and communicate throughout the world, without ever tiring. It can be easy for the disciples to forget that they are servants and not masters and perhaps not feel the urgency of communicating this mystery to the ends of the earth. It is essential for us to welcome the vision of God’s plan, of which we are servants, driving away every temptation to turn in on ourselves or be lazy. In summary the apostle writes: "You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God." It is a claim that dismantles every attempt to turn in on ourselves: today the Church is called to look towards the final goal, God himself, and to follow Jesus so that the entire world and all of human history will be directed towards the Father who is in heaven. The Lord Jesus, the firstborn, stands before us, urging us all to embrace his plan for the salvation of the entire world.

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!