EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of Jesus crucified
Word of god every day
Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of Jesus crucified
Friday, September 17


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

Luke 8,1-3

Now it happened that after this he made his way through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus wants to have not only the Twelve, but also and some women at his side. It is an exemplary choice of the new style of preaching that Jesus puts into practice. Luke is the only one who notices it. The evangelist writes that the women "had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities," had chosen to follow Jesus, and put their goods at his service and that of the disciples. They were fully part of that new community that Jesus had created and that shared his own mission. This is an important indication. It shows how much Jesus went beyond the customs of his time. In fact, it was unthinkable for the rabbinical custom of the time to let women even enter the circle of disciples. Jesus, on the other hand, associates them with his own mission, as it can be seen in other Gospel pages. Luke names three of them, Mary of Magdala, freed from "seven demons," that is, a considerable number of evil spirits; Joanna, a woman close to King Herod, who will also be remembered in the story of the resurrection; and Susanna of whom there is no news. They were probably wealthy people attracted by Jesus' preaching. They put themselves at the service of that extraordinary Master and put their wealth at the service of the new religious group. Already in these few lines, the primacy of discipleship appears clearly. This primacy makes surmount all the barriers, even those that seem more difficult to overcome, as it could be the little consideration that the mentality of the time reserved for women. For Jesus what counts is to be disciples. And for Jesus - as Paul will say - there is no longer man or woman, but only disciples to love, to send, and to defend. To be disciples is the true and most important dignity that is offered and given to us.

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