EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Poor
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Poor
Monday, November 23


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

Revelation 14,1-3.4-5

Next in my vision I saw Mount Zion, and standing on it the Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of the ocean or the roar of thunder; it was like the sound of harpists playing their harps. There before the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a hymn that could be learnt only by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world. These are the sons who have kept their virginity and not been defiled with women; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they, out of all people, have been redeemed to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths and no fault can be found in them.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

After the visions of the two Beasts, John sees a third: the Lamb of Christ rising on Mount Zion, returning in fullness. We already know that the Lamb symbolically signifies meekness and the destiny of the Paschal sacrifice. It is therefore an appropriate sign for Christ, for his death on the cross (sacrificed), but also his Paschal glory. The lamb is, in fact, described "on foot" on the temple mount: standing straight up is a sign of victory and glory. Zion becomes the point of convergence for the entire community saved by the blood of the Lamb. Rising on the slope of this hill is the procession of the elect, the righteous, the martyrs. The opposition with the previous procession of the Beast's followers is evident: they have the mark of slavery and violence on them, while the others carry the sign of God and Christ. No matter how much evil is employed against the believers, no one can tear them from the hand of God. More than represent the community which has reached heaven, the one hundred and forty four thousand represent the believers who are still exposed to Enemy's attacks. They are Christians who are faithful to the Gospel and who persevere in following the Lord "wherever he goes," to death, to martyrdom. They are the "redeemed from the earth," therefore the property and possession of the Lord: "for they are virgins" that is, not contaminated by the idols of this word (fornication is always the symbol of idolatry). The apostle continues: "they have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb." They will not be abandoned to the blind destiny of the world; on their foreheads will be the mark of God's name and the Lamb-not the mark of the Beast. They and only they can comprehend the song which comes down from heaven (it is the communion of God and the saints) and unite themselves to the praise for the Lord.

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