From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad. Clouds and darkness are round about him, justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (MT 6:7-15)
Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Jesus tells the disciples that prayer should be sincere, from the heart, rather than being a mere recitation of words. Then he teaches them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. Asking God for care of our everyday needs, seeking forgiveness for sins and protection from temptation and evil, the Lord’s Prayer aligns our will with God’s so our actions can also be aligned with him. When he finishes, he emphasizes one facet of the prayer: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Showing mercy and grace to others, just as we have received mercy and grace from God, is what the Lord’s prayer empowers us to do.
Heavenly Father, help me see the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples as my model for how to approach you with reverence and trust and a desire to know and do your will. Teach me to love and forgive others as Jesus did in every word of the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.