The Lords Prayer is such a staple in our lives as Catholics, that it is easy to take it for granted. We pray these words at every single Mass and automatically know the place that we pray the Our Father in the liturgy. But, sometimes we say the words as a matter of routine without giving it very much thought.
This tiny jewel of a prayer speaks volumes though, if you take the time to really reflect on it. This could be the challenge for all of us today, to think about, or reflect on the words in the Lord’s Prayer. Did you know that Saint Teresa reflected on each and every word of the Lord’s Prayer and wrote a very detailed commentary on it, in her book titled, The Way of Perfection?
Everything Jesus taught us, in the parables and this prayer is highly concentrated in meaning. Even his example in retreating for prayer was an example for his disciples. Did you notice that the disciples were watching him pray? Perhaps something in his demeanor when he was at prayer, caused his disciples to want to pray like that as well. Holiness is something we all recognize, and Christ was half human, but also half divine. His holiness enveloped and permeated everything he came in contact with, and it was no less so with his disciples.
That’s the first lesson of the Lord’s Prayer. Christ’s example of praying. He retreated often for prayer, and not necessarily in full view of everyone either. Sometimes he retreated to isolated, solitary places and did not allow his disciples to come too. It’s possible those were more serious periods of prayer and communion with his Father, than what occurs in today’s gospel. It sounds like this was a shorter period of prayer, for Jesus. That he simply retreated for a little while and then rejoined his disciples.
Have you ever felt trapped at work with no where to pray and you have something that is weighing heavily on your mind? Someone that is sick in the family, or a recent death, or other family problems? Workers often retreat to their cars (if you own one) on their lunch break. Or, they go for a walk with their rosary in their pocket during lunch. It can be such a solace to pray during your commute to work. When you are at home, it is awesome to pray while you are doing housework, gardening or yardwork.
Did you know the Lord’s Prayer can be sung? It is wonderful to sing it while you work. If no one is around, then you can just sing your heart out and it is such a joyful way to pray. Healing and peaceful.
Your soul praises the God our Father. That is the first thing you do. Your soul acknowledges the greatness of our Creator. Just like the birds sing of God’s glory during the first light of the morning, the very first thing Jesus taught us is to praise God.
Then, we ask for God’s Kingdom to come. The Kingdom of God is among us, and the very act of prayer and awareness of this fact helps to make it a reality. Pray from the heart, and your heart will enlarge, affecting all the other people in your life as well.
We ask God for our needs. Food, clothing, shelter. That does not mean new cars, or to win the lottery though. Just the basic things that are needed for life.
We ask for the forgiveness of our sins, but sometimes we forget the rest of this verse, “as we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.” This is especially true with money that people owe us, not just the sins that other people commit against us. We should be lenient and patient with those who owe us money, just like we would want to be treated too.
The final line is a bit of a warning to us, when Christ teaches us to pray, asking God to not subject us to the final test. These are not harmless words. God allows the devil to tempt us, and try us, just like he allowed Job’s friends to torment him and all kinds of bad things happened to Job. It was God’s will. Not that God wanted to hurt Job, on the contrary, God believed him to be a very holy man. God proved it, by allowing him to be tested, but this was a painful process for Job. It is a very painful process for us as well. Jesus knew what this felt like because the devil tempted him in the desert.
He knew the danger first hand. Jesus wanted to spare us this peril.
The Lord Jesus does not want to lose a single one of us, or place us in any kind of danger. Jesus doesn’t want to see us suffer so much either. The words of the Lord’s Prayer in many ways is asking God to reduce the suffering we endure, by asking for His grace. A lack of forgiveness destroys friendships, marriages, families, and a person’s soul. It is a spiritual cancer that can kill the soul and Jesus wants to spare us this suffering.
Jesus really does want us to be happy. We can not be happy without God’s grace. It is too easy to get side tracked like Saint Paul talked about in the first reading for mass when he said that, “I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel.” When we step outside the boundaries of the commandments and the teachings of Christ, it always causes suffering and unhappiness, both to ourselves and other people in our lives too.
Hopefully, today’s gospel about the Lord’s Prayer will continue to be food for thought, and further reflection on how it applies in our lives today. It is a timeless treasure.
Daily Mass Readings:
Galatians 2: 1-2, 7-14 / Psalm 117 / Luke 11: 1-4
