EVERYDAY PRAYER

Liturgy of the Sunday
Word of god every day

Liturgy of the Sunday

Third Sunday of Advent
Memorial of Lazarus of Bethany. Prayer for all those who are gravely ill and for the dying. Memorial of those who are suffering from AIDS.
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Libretto DEL GIORNO
Liturgy of the Sunday
Sunday, December 17

Homily

"Rejoice in the Lord always; I say to you again, rejoice." With this firm invitation from the Apostle, the Sunday's liturgy - called "Gaudete," the Sunday of Joy - begins. Joy is possible if, like children, we entrust ourselves to the one who is coming. The Lord comes because he wants to save us from sin and give us his very joy. This is God's will that is at the root of the Christmas mystery. But we have a hard time choosing to live in. Instead we are ready to give in to our moods and selfish instincts that are often not at all happy, leaning to complain, and fed by suspicion. Let us be joyful, not because we are reckless, but because of the knowledge we have of God's coming. It is God who frees us from sadness and who cuts away at the bitter roots in our heart.
"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness," sings the prophet. Let us not rejoice for ourselves. On the contrary, we should be aware of our insignificance and of the world's vanity. However, we should be happy for we were chosen. The humble rejoice, while the rich follow their sadness and want to possess happiness. The proud do not rejoice either; they are never full for they do not allow themselves to be loved by others and do not give in to others' reasons. Let us be happy because forgiveness comes and does away with the bonds of sin. We can be different than how we were before!
With a scarcity of prophets, we should listen to the Baptist. He is a "voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.'" He is only a voice but he feels the responsibility of speaking. The apostle Paul warned himself: "Woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel!" (1 Cor 9:16). The believer, before being a person who does good works, is a voice and a witness. This is the true power of the Baptist. It is a weak power. And yet, it is powerful, so much so that multitudes throng around that voice to silence it. The Baptist, and whoever proclaims the Gospel, does not speak to draw to himself the attention. Their voice refers to another, to one much stronger and more powerful.
John points to Jesus; this is his mission and task. His strength is pointing to the true light so that everyone may see it. This is why John does not draw attention to himself according to the domineering and normal self-centredness of our world. His voice speaks of another; it points to one who is already "among us." Our voice can make life flourish in the desert. We, common people as we are, are called to speak to others of the one who is already among us. Weak, we are strong. Sad, we are happy because the Lord is coming to make the earth flourish, to make it like a garden again, his garden. O Lord Jesus, make haste to come!

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