EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Saints and the Prophets
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Saints and the Prophets
Wednesday, September 16


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

1 Timothy 3, 14-16

I write this to you in the hope that I may be able to come to you soon;

but in case I should be delayed, I want you to know how people ought to behave in God's household -- that is, in the Church of the living God, pillar and support of the truth.

Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed: He was made visible in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul wants to visit Timothy in Ephesus as soon as possible; however, he knows that his journey might be delayed. In the meantime, he wants to sends him precise instructions about the organization of the Church, the common prayer (2:1-15) and the selection of the sacred ministers (3:1-13). The care for the communities is a steady concern for the apostle; it never leaves him, even if he is physically far from them. When he writes to Timothy, Paul worries about the many Christian communities in Asia Minor as well; he is concerned about their stability and the danger of being reabsorbed by the world. He writes that the Church is "the pillar and the bulwark of the truth," put by God in this world to be the foundation of the revelation of God, visible to all. The core of this revealed truth is the "mystery of our religion," that is the person of Jesus, the merciful, the meek and humble of heart. In six short verses, Paul sings this mystery of religion, in a hymn that was maybe sung in the liturgy of the Church at that time. The mystery of Christ is presented with three pairs of opposites. In the first "flesh and Spirit", he presents the nature both human and divine of Christ: he opposes the vindication in the Spirit to the manifestation in the flesh, namely his Resurrection as a victory over death; by the power of the Spirit, the Father proclaims to everyone that Jesus, sentenced to death on the cross like a criminal, is the Holy and Righteous One (Acts 3:14). The second pair, "seen by angels" and "proclaimed among Gentiles," refers to the triumph of Christ ascended into heaven and master of history, not limited to a defined historical period or to a people. Thus, his Gospel is proclaimed to the Gentiles as well. Through the third pair of opposites, "believed in throughout the world" and "taken up in glory", Paul sings the victory of Christ elevated and glorified at the right hand of the Father; he maintains that "Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great," the Mystery Jesus entrusted into the hands of the Church and of every believer. The Church must live and show this mystery of religion in all ages. This is what the world, and every person, needs.

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