EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of Jesus crucified
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of Jesus crucified
Friday, June 25


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Matthew 8,1-4

After he had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. Suddenly a man with a virulent skin-disease came up and bowed low in front of him, saying, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can cleanse me.' Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And his skin-disease was cleansed at once. Then Jesus said to him, 'Mind you tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence to them.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus has just finished giving the Sermon on the Mount in front of a great crowd. It was a long speech, and he began it by overturning rules and habits. He called the poor blessed, along with the afflicted, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for justice. Now he is coming down from the mountain, just as Moses came down from the mountain, and he continues to look at the crowd with emotion and kindness as they gather around him looking for a leader, a shepherd. And at that moment a leper comes towards Jesus and kneels before him. It is an unexpected encounter, of the kind that often bother us because they upset our habits and plans and often upset those who are around us. Jesus teaches us to go into the midst of the crowd, letting ourselves be close to all, not looking distrustfully at those who approach us. That leper is the object of scorn and no one had been able (or had wanted) to help him. He finally finds someone who not only does not drive him away but listens to him. Amazed but also trusting, he asks him for healing, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean." It is a simple prayer, but full of faith: "if you choose." Jesus, who later will tell the disciples, "Knock, and the door will be opened for you," immediately opens the door of his mercy, stretches out his hand, touches the leper, and heals him. And the leprosy disappears. Jesus is not afraid of stopping in front of that sick man. He takes care of him, touches him, and speaks a kind word to him. That is how he heals him. Jesus shows the disciples how to be close to those who are in need, how to take care of them. This is the meaning of his listening, of his hand that touches, of the words he speaks to him. And he clearly affirms God's will: "I do choose. Be made clean!" This must also be the choice of the disciples and of every Christian community. Jesus teaches us how to welcome at the same time the leper, he also teaches us how to stay in front of him. We should all be like that leper. Let us reach out our hands towards Jesus, and he will heal us.

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