GEBED IEDERE DAG

Holy Monday
Woord van god elke dag

Holy Monday

Holy Monday
Memorial of the martyrs for the sake of the Gospel.
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Libretto DEL GIORNO
Holy Monday
Monday, April 15

Holy Monday
Memorial of the martyrs for the sake of the Gospel.


Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

John 12,1-11

Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was filled with the scent of the ointment. Then Judas Iscariot -- one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him-said, 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents. So Jesus said, 'Leave her alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial. You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.' Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

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

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Gospel of John begins the narration of the Passion of Jesus with a dinner in Bethany at the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus - a family that was very dear to Jesus. In those days of his harsh struggles with the Pharisees and priests, this home had become a place of rest and repose. It was six days before the Passover, as it is for us now, and once again Jesus was having dinner with them. Lazarus, whom Jesus had recently brought back to life, was there too. At one point during the dinner Mary gets up, comes close to Jesus, and kneels at his feet, covering them with ointment and then drying them with her hair. The house is filled with the smell of the perfume. Her gesture is full of freely given love. Mary does not calculate how much might be wasted. She is only thinking about her love for the prophet that gave back her brother and who loved her home so tenderly. But Judas thinks differently. For him, this gesture of love is indeed an unnecessary waste. His greed had blinded him. Jesus responds immediately to Judas and says, "Leave her alone." Jesus wants Mary to continue her loving gesture: the ointment she uses foreshadows the oil that will be poured on his body before his burial. Jesus was about to begin his way of the cross, which would lead to his death. Mary was the only one who understood that Jesus was going to be put to death and therefore needed special affection and closeness, just like every dying person. This woman who lets herself be overwhelmed by Jesus' love teaches us how to be close to him over the next days and how to be close to the weak and the sick every day, especially the elderly, whose bodies weaken and need to be taken care of tenderly. Mary's tender and loving act, made up of simple and concrete gestures, is a symbol of the path of salvation: when we are close to the poor, the weak, and the elderly, we are close to Jesus himself. This is what Jesus means when he says, "The poor you always have with you."

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