GEBED IEDERE DAG

Memory of the Church
Woord van god elke dag

Memory of the Church

Memorial of the first martyrs of the Roman Church during persecution of Nero. Lees meer

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the Church
Thursday, June 30

Memorial of the first martyrs of the Roman Church during persecution of Nero.


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

Amos 7,10-17

Amaziah the priest of Bethel then sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel as follows, 'Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country cannot tolerate his speeches. For this is what Amos says, "Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel will go into captivity far from its native land." ' To Amos himself Amaziah said, 'Go away, seer, take yourself off to Judah, earn your living there, and there you can prophesy! But never again will you prophesy at Bethel, for this is a royal sanctuary, a national temple.' 'I am not a prophet,' Amos replied to Amaziah, 'nor do I belong to a prophetic brotherhood. I am merely a herdsman and dresser of sycamore-figs. But Yahweh took me as I followed the flock, and Yahweh said to me, "Go and prophesy to my people Israel." So now listen to what Yahweh says: "You say: Do not prophesy against Israel, do not foretell doom on the House of Isaac!" Very well, this is what Yahweh says, "Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parcelled out by measuring line, and you yourself will die on polluted soil and Israel will go into captivity far from its own land!" '

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

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

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This page reports the conversation between the priest Amaziah and the prophet Amos. It is the clash between on one hand the freedom of the prophet who speaks in the name of God and on the other of Amaziah, a priest connected to the political and who speaks in the name of Jeroboam, the king of Samaria. The priest regards Amos' prophetic action as a political conspiracy against the state or its highest representative. After discussing the matter with Jeroboam himself, Amaziah confronts the prophet directly, telling him that "the land Is not able to bear all his words." And he warned him that he could no longer be a prophet in Bethel. He had to withdraw in the land of Judah. He expels him from the temple, which was no longer God's sanctuary, since it had been transformed into the king's "sanctuary." This reminds us of what was to happen in the temple of Jerusalem when, having become a market place rather than a house of prayer, it provoked the violent reaction of Jesus. The prophet Amos, who had allowed himself to be grasped by the Lord, retorts to Amaziah. He justifies himself first of all by saying that he does not belong to any caste, to any prophetic guild, nor does he claim a special place that distinguishes him from others. On the contrary, he reiterates clearly that there had been a direct intervention of God with him: "he took me from following the flock" and immediately gave him the prophetic mission: "Go, prophesy to my people Israel." And God himself intervenes to warn Amaziah. He, who wanted to silence the prophet to stay quiet, will see evil raging against him. It is a warning for all Israel. Without the Word of God, without its prophets, the people of God does not survive.

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