EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Church
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church
Thursday, October 19


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

Acts 17,1-14

Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they eventually reached Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul as usual went in and for three consecutive Sabbaths developed the arguments from scripture for them, explaining and proving how it was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead. 'And the Christ', he said, 'is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.' Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, and so did a great many godfearing people and Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women. The Jews, full of resentment, enlisted the help of a gang from the market place, stirred up a crowd, and soon had the whole city in an uproar. They made for Jason's house, hoping to bring them before the People's Assembly; however, they found only Jason and some of the brothers, and these they dragged before the city council, shouting, 'The people who have been turning the whole world upside down have come here now; they have been staying at Jason's. They have broken Caesar's edicts by claiming that there is another king, Jesus.' Hearing this, the citizens and the city councillors were alarmed, and they made Jason and the rest give security before setting them free. When it was dark the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Beroea, where they went to the Jewish synagogue as soon as they arrived. Here the Jews were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they welcomed the word very readily; every day they studied the scriptures to check whether it was true. Many of them became believers, and so did many Greek women of high standing and a number of the men. When the Jews of Thessalonica came to learn that the word of God was being preached by Paul in Beroea as well, they went there to make trouble and stir up the people. So the brothers arranged for Paul to go immediately as far as the coast, leaving Silas and Timothy behind.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul stops in Thessalonica, the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, and enters, as was his custom, into the synagogue. Thessalonica was an important political, economic, cultural and religious centre. Paul (with Silas and Timothy) for three consecutive Saturdays, starting from the scriptures, announces to those who were there that “the Messiah is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” Even here, some of those who were listening were touched by Paul’s words. Some Greeks and women from wealthy families also joined in. Another group of Jews, however, became envious of Paul’s success, provoked a riot against him and forced him to go to Beroea with his companions. There the local Jews warmly received them with a spirit of great acceptance. Unfortunately those from Thessalonica heard of it and came to the city to stir up some more trouble. As we can see, for Paul, the beginning of the Church on European soil brought a painful chain of bitter experiences. The repeated accusation against him was public disruption and revolt against the state. Such always is the path for the Church and for every Christian community, but the Lord has promised that he will never leave his disciples alone and that his help will never fail. These pages from the Acts tell us that Christian life is always a life in struggle against evil. However, we also know that the consolation that comes from our friendship with the Lord allows us to overcome every difficulty and obstacle.

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!