EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Word of god every day

Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Memorial of Saint Nicholas († 350). He was a bishop in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) and is venerated throughout East. Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Tuesday, December 6

Memorial of Saint Nicholas († 350). He was a bishop in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) and is venerated throughout East.


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Psalm 96, 1-3.10-13

1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
  sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
  tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,
  his marvellous works among all the peoples.

10 Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!
  The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
  He will judge the peoples with equity.’

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
  let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it.
  Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

13  before the Lord; for he is coming,
  for he is coming to judge the earth.
  He will judge the world with righteousness,
  and the peoples with his truth.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

With this psalm, which echoes the ascent of the ark to Jerusalem, the believer is called to praise the Lord who has ascended on his throne. Everyone, the heavens, the earth, the sea, the fields, the trees of the forest, and the families of peoples are all invited to sing praises to the Lord. Three times during the psalm the invitation to “Sing!” is repeated. The entire world rejoices before the news that God has come to “govern” and “judge” the earth. The psalmist makes us think of a liturgical assembly gathered in the Temple to praise the Lord and exhorts his listeners: “Bring an offering, and come to his courts. Worship the Lord in holy splendour” (v. 8-9). Indeed, the psalmist’s gaze quickly turns to encompass the world and the whole of humanity. The whole earth, all the nations, all the gods, and all the peoples are invited to enter the temple. It is the centre of Israel’s worship, the place that God has chosen as a dwelling place, but it is no longer reserved for Israel alone. From now on it belongs to all the “families of the peoples” (v. 7-8). The procession that sees Israel and all the peoples of the earth enter into the temple together in one pilgrimage and in one only procession is full of meaning. The tension between the temple and the world deeply marks the faith of Israel. God’s people was not chosen for itself and to be concerned only about its own salvation The Lord has entrusted his people with a universal mission: to communicate to all the peoples of the earth that there is one God who wants salvation for everyone, nobody excluded. When Abraham was elected he was given a responsibility for the whole of humanity: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3). God’s plan that emerges in the Holy Scriptures is universal: God wants to gather and unite all the families of the peoples together. The psalmist exhorts Israel: “tell of his salvation from day to day, declare his glory among the nations” (v. 2-3). The invitation is clear: “tell” and “say” that “the Lord is king” in the midst of the peoples (v.10). This universal tension becomes more evident in the Gospel message. Jesus’ preaching begins by communicating the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God for all people: “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near” (Mk 1:15). This is the heart of Jesus’ preaching since its very beginning. With Jesus, the Kingdom of God has come near to men and women; indeed it has come among us. Gathered in God’s plan, Christians are called to be artisans of this plan. The vocation of the Church—which Pope Francis keeps reminding us all — is to favour, in every possible way, mutual encounter among the peoples of the earth so that they walk toward the Kingdom of God which has begun. Prayer with Mary, Mother of the Lord

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!