Fanning the Flame at 2620 Lebanon Avenue, Belleville, IL 6221 US - November 25, Jesus Taught Us to Pray (36)

Quick Reflection:

"THE SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE GOSPEL

The Lord's Prayer "is truly the summary of the whole gospel" wrote Tertullian, famous for his writings in the early Church. At the center of the Scriptures, after showing how the psalms are the principal food of Christian prayer, St. Augustine concludes: "Glance through all the words of the holy prayers (in Scripture), and I do not think that you will be able to find anything in them that is not contained in the Lord's Prayer." The Lord's Prayer is recognized, then, as the most perfect of prayers. St. Thomas Aquinas added this insight: "In it not only do we ask for everything we can desire, but this prayer gives form to our most loving desires."
On the one hand, in the words of this prayer Christ Jesus gives us the words the Father gave Him: He is our teacher of prayer (In 17:7). On the other hand, as Word Incarnate, Jesus knows in his human heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us: He is the model of our prayer, and teaches us to pray as Church, as the Body of Christ. St. John Chrysostom puts it this way: "The Lord teaches us to make a prayer in common for all our brothers and sisters. For He did not say "my Father who art in heaven", but our" Father, offering petitions for the common Body.
In all our Catholic liturgical traditions, the Lord's Prayer is an integral part. In the Divine Office (the official prayer of the Church) and the three sacraments of Christian initiation its ecclesial character is especially clear. In the Eucharistic Liturgy the Lord's Prayer, placed between the Eucharistic prayer and the communion, sums up on the one hand all petitions and intercessions and, on the other, seeks admittance to the feast of the kingdom which sacramental communion anticipates. Furthermore, the Eucharist and the Lord's Prayer look eagerly for the Lord's return, "until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26), mindful of St. Paul's admonition.

Commentary

The “Our Father” is the best and richest of all prayers because it was the Lord Jesus’ favored prayer. Why? Because He followed an order, or steps, teaching us how to pray with all our prayers. How do you enter the prayer? First, put yourself in the Father’s presence; take time to calm yourself; quiet all other thoughts; relax in silence, let God’s Spirit take over, giving you a sense of His goodness, His love for you. Prayer at this point is holy because God’s presence has just enveloped your whole being. That’s why it has been called “a step into heaven while on earth”…Our Father, in heaven, holy be your name, “wholly” with me!
My time ministering in the prison system has given me some recent specific opportunities to see the power of this prayer coupled with the study of the faith. The young men come desiring, seeking, and wanting to discover what they’ve missed until now, namely this confident experience of God’s closeness and His abiding presence “wholly” with them in prayer. They find it “new” and especially are taken with the rosary to their new-found Mother and her Hail Mary joined to her Son’s Our Father. Witnessing them receive Jesus in Holy Communion, it is hard to remember when others have been in such awe, such reverence, such quiet, such concentration on God’s presence within.
This honesty continues into the discussions we have on the study of Scriptures and the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA) about what God has revealed and how He expects us to act. Recently, while we were reviewing the first three of the Ten Commandments, I found them talking about their life failures. I saw what was happening. As they were appreciating God’s instruction about Himself in those first commandments, they easily slipped into their failures related to the remaining seven commandments.
As they began voicing their contrition to one another and to me with growing frustration, I interrupted to point out how humble they sounded, and how much their Father God loved them for their humility and honesty. God was bringing out the best in them, including their bringing out the best in each other through mutual understanding and trust.
This exchange, this heart to heart conversation, was a moving moment for me to see God’s presence, Christ’s love and grace at work. In the same way, the “Lord’s Prayer” regularly prayed, or even just thought of often during our day, can give us an instance of intimacy with Him. It’s the constant working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, constant tugging at us with love – and mercy.
A fascinating sentence from the USCCA chapter 36, Jesus Taught Us to Pray, is: “The Gospels rarely describe what His prayer was like, simply noting that He prayed often.” Even when He was having a busy day? Apparently; and we can too. Stop and think, beginning today, at what moments you could simply think of God – with gratitude…with need…over something beautiful… then, unite these thoughts to: Our Father, Lord Jesus, Mother Mary… Discover extraordinary intimacy… The moment will pass, but just until the next one. “Heaven does not refer to a place but to God’s presence in our hearts…” (CCC, no. 2802)
Whether earthly nourishment, forgiveness needed or given to others, freedom from temptations, or deliverance from evils is sought; whether with the Lord’s Prayer or prayers of your own making, long or short, God-is-with-us, Emmanuel! Trust and move on! Pray in order to believe, believe in order to pray!

Discussion Questions

We all have various experiences with father figures. When they have been positive, how have they paved the way for approaching the “Our Father”? Where they have been negative, how does the image need to be healed to allow the prayer of the “Our Father” to reveal God’s abiding and loving presence?

The “Our Father” is prayed in many settings. Are we cautious about it not becoming so familiar that the words roll without thought off our tongues? On the other hand, how might the familiarity serve as a way to incorporate it into our lives like a lens, a natural automatic prayer response, a springboard to additional forms of praye?

Review the petitions of the “Our Father” and, looking at each one, what do they mean personally and what difference can they make this day?

Suggested Prayer Intentions