GEBED IEDERE DAG

Memory of the Church
Woord van god elke dag

Memory of the Church

Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. Remembrance of Filomena, an elderly woman from Trastevere in Rome who died in a nursing home in 1976. With her we remember all the elderly, especially those who are alone and those who live in nursing homes. Lees meer

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church
Thursday, December 12

Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. Remembrance of Filomena, an elderly woman from Trastevere in Rome who died in a nursing home in 1976. With her we remember all the elderly, especially those who are alone and those who live in nursing homes.


Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Isaiah 41,13-20

For I, Yahweh, your God, I grasp you by your right hand; I tell you, 'Do not be afraid, I shall help you.' Do not be afraid, Jacob, you worm! You little handful of Israel! I shall help you, declares Yahweh; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Look, I am making you into a threshing-sledge, new, with double teeth; you will thresh and beat the mountains to dust and reduce the hills to straw. You will winnow them and the wind will carry them off, the gale will scatter them; whereas you will rejoice in Yahweh, will glory in the Holy One of Israel. The oppressed and needy search for water, and there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. I, Yahweh, shall answer them, I, the God of Israel, shall not abandon them. I shall open up rivers on barren heights and water-holes down in the ravines; I shall turn the desert into a lake and dry ground into springs of water. I shall plant the desert with cedar trees, acacias, myrtles and olives; in the wastelands I shall put cypress trees, plane trees and box trees side by side; so that people may see and know, so that they may all observe and understand that the hand of Yahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

It is easy, especially in difficult times, to forget the Lord's love and mercy and fall prey to fear and dejection. In this age of globalization, fear seems to have spread and grown: the world seems too vast and immeasurable. It is more difficult to understand and govern it. Anger adds to fear. It is not fun to live in a time and a world in which anger and fear support each other and create a climate of illbeing and conflict. The words of the prophet remind us to be aware of the presence of God in this limitless world: "Do not fear, I will help you." This invitation is repeated several times in this short passage of Isaiah, as if to break down the door of fear that keeps us from seeing the love that accompanies us. How often, even in the Gospels, Jesus repeats to the disciples to trust in him and not be afraid! The Lord is the support of his people. He is relief for the poor and the one who frees prisoners. And even if it is true that "the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst," it is even truer that the Lord is coming quickly to their aid. The prophet speaks of the new exodus of the people of Israel out of the Babylonian exile: it will be a liberation even more profound than the first when they were freed from Egypt. In fact, if during the journey through the desert after their first liberation, the people of Israel were quenched with water that flowed from a rock, now the Lord will transform the entire desert into a "a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." This is the love of the Lord who works greater and greater wonders for his people. This love reached its climax with Jesus, who not only came down from heaven to be near to us, but even gave his life to save the world from sin and death. We are asked - as the prophet writes - to "see and know" this love and to let it touch our hearts.

WOORD VAN GOD ELKE DAG: DE KALENDER

Het gebed is het hart van het leven van de Gemeenschap van Sant’Egidio. Het is haar eerste “werk”. Aan het einde van de dag komt elke Gemeenschap, of die nu klein of groot is, samen bij de Heer om het Woord te beluisteren en zich tot Hem te richten in het gebed. De leerlingen kunnen niet anders dan aan de voeten van Jezus zitten, zoals Maria van Bethanië, om het “betere deel” te kiezen (Lc 10, 42) en van Hem zijn gezindheid te leren (vgl. Fil 2, 5).

Elke keer dat de Gemeenschap zich tot de Heer richt, maakt ze zich die vraag eigen van de anonieme leerling: “Heer, leer ons bidden!” (Lc 11, 1). En Jezus, meester in het gebed, antwoordt: “Wanneer jullie bidden, zeg dan: Abba, Vader”.

Wanneer we bidden, ook in de geslotenheid van ons eigen hart, zijn we nooit alleen of verweesd. Integendeel, we zijn leden van de familie van de Heer. In het gemeenschappelijk gebed wordt naast het mysterie van het kindschap, ook dat van de broederschap en zusterschap duidelijk.

De Gemeenschappen van Sant’Egidio, verspreid over de wereld, verzamelen zich op de verschillende plaatsen die gekozen zijn voor het gebed en brengen de hoop en het verdriet van de “uitgeputte en hulpeloze mensenmenigte” waarover het Evangelie spreekt (Mt 9, 37) bij de Heer. Deze oude menigte omvat de inwoners van onze hedendaagse steden, de armen die zich bevinden in de marge van het leven, en iedereen die wacht om als dagloner te worden aangenomen (vgl. Mt 20).

Het gemeenschappelijk gebed verzamelt de schreeuw, de hoop, het verlangen naar vrede, genezing, zin en redding, die beleefd worden door de mannen en vrouwen van deze wereld. Het gebed is nooit leeg. Het stijgt onophoudelijk op naar de Heer opdat verdriet verandert in vreugde, wanhoop in blijheid, angst in hoop, eenzaamheid in gemeenschap. En het rijk Gods zal spoedig temidden van de mensen komen.

WOORD VAN GOD ELKE DAG: DE KALENDER