The Lord's Prayer
by Sr. Rosemary
Our Father
Has there ever been a more powerful or more important prayer than the Our Father? The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Our Father “is truly the summary of the whole Gospel”. (#2761) Jesus isn’t just suggesting a prayer for us to say; what he said is: “This is how you are to pray.”
Since the time he taught us the Our Father himself, it has been recited by every Christian church, in every service from baptism to burial. It’s also at the heart of our private devotions. And people who might otherwise differ on points of doctrine are united by their common use of this beautiful prayer. How easy, though, it can be for us to say it routinely and without much thought.
With that in mind, let’s reflect together in a prayerful way on each powerful phrase of the Our Father.
- I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself.
- I cannot say “Father” if I do not approach God like a child.
- I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am not laying up some treasure there right now.
- I cannot say “hallowed be thy name” if I am careless with that name.
- I cannot say “Thy kingdom come” if I am not working to bring it about in the here and now.
- I cannot say “thy will be done” if I am resentful of that will for me at this moment.
- I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I don’t look on heaven as my future home.
- I cannot say “give us our daily bread” if I am overanxious about tomorrow.
- I cannot say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” if I am waiting to settle a score with someone.
- I cannot say ‘lead us not into temptation’ if I deliberately put myself in a place to be tempted.
- I cannot say ‘deliver us from evil’ if I am not prepared to pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything depends on me.
- And finally, I cannot say “amen’ with my lips if my heart does not believe the words Our Lord himself has given us to pray.