EVERYDAY PRAYER

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

Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Feast of the Black Christ of Esquipulas in Guatemala, venerated throughout all of Central America. Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Tuesday, January 15

Feast of the Black Christ of Esquipulas in Guatemala, venerated throughout all of Central America.


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

Hebrews 2,5-12

It was not under angels that he put the world to come, about which we are speaking. Someone witnesses to this somewhere with the words: What are human beings that you spare a thought for them, a child of Adam that you care for him? For a short while you have made him less than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honour, put all things under his feet. For in putting all things under him he made no exceptions. At present, it is true, we are not able to see that all things are under him, but we do see Jesus, who was for a short while made less than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he submitted to death; so that by God's grace his experience of death should benefit all humanity. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should, in bringing many sons to glory, make perfect through suffering the leader of their salvation. For consecrator and consecrated are all of the same stock; that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers in the text: I shall proclaim your name to my brothers, praise you in full assembly; or in the text:

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

"What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them?" This line from Psalm 8 quoted by the author of this Letter reminds believers of God's extraordinary love: in order to save humanity from the power of evil and death, God does not remain looking down from heaven, but sends his very Son to take care of and save us. Human beings are no small thing for the Lord, they are the objects of His love. It is this limitless love to "bring many children to glory" (v. 10) that moved the Lord to send his Son to earth. The Son, for his part, descended into the depths of humanity, into the chasm into which people let themselves fall, to gather everyone and bring them to safety. In this way, Jesus became the "the pioneer of their salvation" (v. 10) of men, true "brother" who cannot countenance any distance. Though he was the Son of the Most High, he was not ashamed of us, of our sin, or our poverty. This fact should make us reflect on the extent to which God loves us: His love overcomes our sin and bridges the gap between us and Him. His love is utterly unimaginable by human reason. This love is the task that Jesus took on for himself. Indeed, he said to the Father: "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you" (v.12). On the day of Easter, to the women he encountered early in the morning, Jesus says: "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (Mt 28:10).

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