EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Church
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church
Thursday, April 6


Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

John 8,51-59

In all truth I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death. The Jews said, 'Now we know that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead, and yet you say, "Whoever keeps my word will never know the taste of death." Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?' Jesus answered: If I were to seek my own glory my glory would be worth nothing; in fact, my glory is conferred by the Father, by the one of whom you say, 'He is our God,' although you do not know him. But I know him, and if I were to say, 'I do not know him,' I should be a liar, as you yourselves are. But I do know him, and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw it and was glad. The Jews then said, 'You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!' Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I am. At this they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

“Whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The declaration that opens today’s Gospel passage immerses us directly in the liberating spring of the Word of God and helps us understand what God’s will is for each one of us. And yet, in the face of such troubling words, often we, like the Jews of the time, raise more than a few obstacles. It is quite peculiar that while the Lord wants to give us the fullness of life, that is, a life that does not end with death, he encounters resistance and opposition from us. We often prefer to live a life subjected to a hard law, that is, a life enslaved to self-love, rather than upsetting the tranquil normalcy of our lives. Indeed many look with wariness and hostility at the generous offer the Lord makes each one of us, the offer of a different life, a more human and more meaningful life. But we often refuse such great love. We are would be willing to accept some form of the Gospel if it were less demanding and did not disturb us too much. How often do we too say to the Gospel, “Are you greater than Abraham?” Behind this question is concealed an attempt to flatten the Gospel, to empty it of its strength, to bring it down to the level of normalcy. To take the prophecy out of the Gospel, its otherness from the world, is like killing it. In truth, if we choose the Gospel we must stop living our lives turned in on ourselves, and we must follow Jesus, who did not come to be served, but to serve. If we instead resign ourselves to the hardness of our selfishness, we easily become like those bystanders who picked up stones to throw at Jesus. And what are stones if not the feelings and the deeds that we hurl to offend and destroy each other? The Lord wants his disciples to show mercy and forgiveness.

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