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, October 5


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

Galatians 2,1-2.7-14

It was not until fourteen years had gone by that I travelled up to Jerusalem again, with Barnabas, and I took Titus with me too. My journey was inspired by a revelation and there, in a private session with the recognised leaders, I expounded the whole gospel that I preach to the gentiles, to make quite sure that the efforts I was making and had already made should not be fruitless. On the contrary, once they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been entrusted to me, just as to Peter the gospel for the circumcised (for he who empowered Peter's apostolate to the circumcision also empowered mine to the gentiles), and when they acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, then James and Cephas and John, who were the ones recognised as pillars, offered their right hands to Barnabas and to me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked nothing more than that we should remember to help the poor, as indeed I was anxious to do in any case. However, when Cephas came to Antioch, then I did oppose him to his face since he was manifestly in the wrong. Before certain people from James came, he used to eat with gentiles; but as soon as these came, he backed out and kept apart from them, out of fear of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews put on the same act as he did, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity. When I saw, though, that their behaviour was not true to the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all of them, 'Since you, though you are a Jew, live like the gentiles and not like the Jews, how can you compel the gentiles to live like the Jews?'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

After telling the Galatians about the call received from God to proclaim the Gospel to pagans, Paul writes that he went back in Jerusalem to speak with the apostles. He knows well that the "charism" he received from God is for the edification of the Church and not for personal accomplishments. He goes back to Jerusalem, after fourteen years of ministry, accompanied by Barnabas and Titus. Paul discusses his missionary work with the "pillars" of the community, to avoid "running in vain." Not that Paul was doubtful of the gospel he preached, but he knew that the Church is built in communion and not in the leadership of a personal protagonist. In Jerusalem he freely debates with the other apostles on the value of the Law. Paul obtained confirmation of his pastoral activity by the apostles who - and it is important to underline - made only one recommendation: "that we remember the poor." And Paul responded: "Which was actually what I was eager to do." It is undoubtedly significant that at the conclusion of such a strong theological-pastoral debate, harmony is achieved on the urgent need to "remember the poor". Love, the heart of Christian faith and therefore of salvation, finds one of its central pillars in remembering the poor. Paul reminds the Galatians of his opposition to Peter when Peter came to Antioch. Paul accused him of inconsistent behaviour: on the one hand he used to "sit at the table" –even at the Eucharist - with the ethnic Christians; on the other hand, when Judaeo-Christians arrived from Jerusalem, Peter refrained from participating in the meetings. Paul knew that Peter was acting out of "fear" and not out of conviction. But this attitude caused deep division in the community of Antioch by making Judaeo-Christians prevail. In fact, even Barnabas, who had relations with Gentile Christians, was influenced by this attitude. Paul notes bitterly that even Barnabas "was laid astray by this hypocrisy." Fearing that what had happened in Antioch could be repeated in the communities of Galatia, the apostle spoke with great decision. If, in Antioch it was enough to condemn Peter’s inconsistency (2:14), Paul feels that in Galatia he needed to show clearly that such behaviour undermined the very core of faith. An ambiguous behaviour, like that of Peter, made useless the work of Jesus himself who had broken down the wall that separated Jews and Gentiles. Christ in fact "has made both groups into one, and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances" (Eph 2:14 f.). The Christian community is no longer divided because of the Law: the one Church of God is made up of Jews and Gentiles. In following Christ, reconciliation between people, between nations, and between cultures takes root. Hence, Paul explains to Peter that his ambiguous conduct would have devastating consequences for all: "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (Eph2:14ff). One should not burden Christians coming from paganism with useless loads, thus risking to prevent others from entering the Christian community. Christ is the peace and this is why he builds it up among human beings.

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