EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Word of god every day

Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Muslims start the month of Ramadan Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Tuesday, April 13

Muslims start the month of Ramadan


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

John 3,7-15

Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above. The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 'How is that possible?' asked Nicodemus. Jesus replied, 'You are the Teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things! 'In all truth I tell you, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence. If you do not believe me when I speak to you about earthly things, how will you believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man; as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus continues his dialogue with Nicodemus. It is clear to the disciple the need to be reborn from above by the Spirit of God. The Spirit's action is strong and also mysterious, just as the action of the wind is strong and mysterious: neither where it comes from nor where it goes is known. The Greek word "pneuma," used by the evangelist, indicates both the "wind" and the "Spirit" of God who guides the prophets in their prophecy. This double meaning allows the evangelist to emphasize that the action of the Spirit is "voice," that is, word and announcement, and at the same time "wind," that is, strength and movement. Here we touch the heart of the Gospel according to John, that is, the mysterious action of the Spirit that leads to believe in Jesus and therefore to salvation. Nicodemus is attentive to the words of the young master. And, astonished, he presents him with all his scepticism: "How can these things be?" Jesus, at first, responds with irony: "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?" It is a pedagogical way for Jesus to help him get rid of the resigned pride that tarnishes the adult and wise eyes of Nicodemus and do not allow him to clearly see the newness of God. We too know how much our supposed wisdom is often marked by hopeless pride: we do not rely on the words of the Gospel that ask us to look beyond our usual horizons, which we continue to consider unchangeable, despite the disappointments or failures of our lives. For Jesus this is not the case. His wisdom is far greater than ours because it is the wisdom of God himself who knows how to look at the entire humanity with limitless love. Rebirth in the Spirit occurs through the cross, that is, through that boundless love that leads Jesus to offer his own life to save others. Certainly, the Father will raise him from death for such love. But already in the cross the breadth of Jesus' love for all is clear. By standing under the cross of Jesus we better understand the breadth of his love for humankind. We are all saved by the mantle of his limitless love.

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