Prayer for the sick
The prayer for the sick is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Remembrance of Athenagoras (+1972), patriarch of Constantinople and father of ecumenical dialogue. ? ?
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
Genesis 28,10-22
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he had reached a certain place, he stopped there for the night, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was. He had a dream: there was a ladder, planted on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and God's angels were going up and down on it. And there was Yahweh, standing beside him and saying, 'I, Yahweh, am the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you are lying I shall give to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as plentiful as the dust on the ground; you will spread out to west and east, to north and south, and all clans on earth will bless themselves by you and your descendants. Be sure, I am with you; I shall keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this country, for I shall never desert you until I have done what I have promised you.' Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Truly, Yahweh is in this place and I did not know!' He was afraid and said, 'How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than the abode of God, and this is the gate of heaven!' Early next morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil over the top of it. He named the place Bethel, but before that the town had been called Luz. Jacob then made this vow, 'If God remains with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I come home safe to my father's home, then Yahweh shall be my God. This stone I have set up as a pillar is to be a house of God, and I shall faithfully pay you a tenth part of everything you give me.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The story of Bethel follows immediately the deceit of the primogeniture and Rebekah's advice to Jacob to flee his house. Tired of the journey, Jacob stops to rest in a deserted place. And Jacob dreams a ladder that joins heaven and earth. We could say that it is the dream of every man and woman. Our earth is often as hard as the rock on which Jacob rests his head. But God sends his angels, who climb towards the Lord from that place so that Jacob will not remain closed in the narrow horizons of his world. The land in which we are living is often hard but not cursed. God has always hope for the world and blesses the earth to make it fertile and fulfil his plan. And believers are called upon to take part in this dream, which is a dream for all the peoples of the earth, especially those whose destiny is the most heavy and painful. Believers recognize the Lord's presence in all peoples on earth - the great patriarch Athenagoras loved to say: "All the peoples of the earth are good" - and know that God wants their salvation. God has placed his dwelling among men and women. The Christian community is called to go among people to help them build the way of peace. The community must be the gate that opens to God's heaven for all peoples. Jacob's ladder sees climbing and going down the prayers that believers raise for peace.