EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Tuesday, November 29


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

Psalm 72, 1-2.7-8.12-13.17

1 Give the king your justice, O God,
  and your righteousness to a king’s son.

2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
  and your poor with justice.

7 In his days may righteousness flourish
  and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
  and from the River to the ends of the earth.

12 For he delivers the needy when they call,
  the poor and those who have no helper.

13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
  and saves the lives of the needy.

17 May his name endure for ever,
  his fame continue as long as the sun.
  May all nations be blessed in him;
  may they pronounce him happy.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Psalm 72 is the last of David’s prayers and relates the vision of Israel’s dream. Israel is a small nation, often troubled by its neighbours and even more often badly governed by its own kings. The psalmist hopes for a king who will finally rule with righteousness and justice, and for the Lord justice is not the cold redistribution of possessions, but the special attention given to the poor so that they can live with the same dignity as everyone else. Throughout the whole of Scripture, justice is always tied to love and mercy. Without this bond it is difficult to understand the deep meaning of the biblical message about the dignity of every man and woman. The psalmist’s prayer rises to God and asks that the king not only govern in God’s name - almost every king has claimed to do that - but according to God’s plan. From the beginning the psalmist prays, “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.”(v.1-2) He is undoubtedly praying for the king to have an eternal, universal, and victorious reign: “May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations… May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute” (v. 5-10). But wisdom in ruling is not passed down in a dynasty or acquired like a privilege. Only God can grant it. The psalmist has before his eyes the image of Solomon, who asked God to give him wisdom in ruling the moment he was elected king. This is why the psalm prays for the king, but also - and more importantly - asks God for a king according to His plan. Its words prefigure the coming of the Messiah-king, the person sent by God to establish a kingdom of peace and justice. In them can already be seen the words of Isaiah, “Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. The wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest” (32:16-17, 15).

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