EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Poor
Word of god every day

Memory of the Poor

Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Poor
Monday, December 12

Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico


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

Psalm 25, 4-9

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
     teach me your paths.

5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
     for you are the God of my salvation;
     for you I wait all day long.

6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
     for they have been from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
     according to your steadfast love remember me,
     for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
     therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in what is right,
     and teaches the humble his way.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This psalm, the first in a series that concludes with psalm 34, is a prayer that rises from the mouth of the poor who invoke salvation: asking for forgiveness from their sins, and guidance about the path to follow. Along with the entire people, the psalmist is living through a particularly difficult period, so difficult that his very faith is being tested. Perhaps the period refers to the time after the exile, when those who were most faithful, upon arriving in their homeland, were not welcomed and therefore felt lonely and disillusioned. In their distress, they wondered whether it had been worthwhile to remain faithful to the law of the Lord. And they started to doubt whether God really kept his promises. In this difficult context, the first part of the psalm reveals both trust and concern: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me” (v. 1-2). These are words that come from someone who wants to trust in the Lord, notwithstanding the difficult situation in which he finds himself, a situation that seems to favour his enemies. He knows that the Lord has not abandoned him. But he is aware of the responsibility he has to learn the ways of the Lord and, with His help, to follow them. He prays: “Make me know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation” (v. 4-5). Salvation – as the psalmist knows well – consists of listening to the Word of the Lord continuously and putting it into practice faithfully. This is what Jesus will ask of his disciples: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it! (Lk 11:28). The psalmist knows how unfaithful and sinful he has been. But he should not lose hope. His faith is in the Lord and in his love, which is much greater than human sin. He must never stop praying. The psalmist places his invocation on our lips: “Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old” (v. 6). Actually, the beauty of the faith that emerges from the pages of the psalmist comes from the fact that our God is great in love and that his justice is mercy. “Good and upright is the Lord,” the psalmist affirms, adding, “He teaches the humble his way” (v. 8-9). The Lord is truly a good and merciful father. Jesus urges us to imitate him: “Be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

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