EVERYDAY PRAYER

Memory of the Poor
Word of god every day

Memory of the Poor

Memorial of Saint John XXIII (+1963) and of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Poor
Monday, October 11

Memorial of Saint John XXIII (+1963) and of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).


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 11,29-32

The crowds got even bigger and he addressed them, 'This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation. On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Faith does not come after wondrous signs; if anything, faith is required for miracles to occur. There are still many people today who are looking for wondrous signs to nourish their faith. And when something extraordinary happens, many people rush to see it. And if these "signs" occur, they are certainly gifts from the Lord, and we need to thank Him for this help. But we must pay more attention than we normally do, to the "sign" of signs, which the Lord has given to all, the "sign of Jonah." Without this "sign" the others are exterior and sometimes deceiving. The early community read these words of Jesus in light of the Resurrection. Just as the inhabitants of Nineveh converted after hearing the preaching of Jonah, even though he did not perform any miracles, so too must people convert today, knowing that Jesus is far "greater than Jonah." We must communicate to the world the mystery of Easter, that is Jesus' passage from death to resurrection, that is victory of good over evil, life over death, and love over hatred. This mystery is the heart of Jesus' story: he came to the earth to give his life to the point of dying on the cross for our salvation, and the Father raised him from the dead. This Gospel is much more valuable than the wisdom of Solomon and much stronger than the preaching of Jonah. The Gospel is not an optional addition to the history of peoples. It is their salvation. This Gospel passage asks the Church and the disciples to be aware of it and, at the same time, to be its humble witnesses.

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