Tag: Lord's prayer

“Father, hallowed be your name.” | Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Praise the LORD, all you nations, glorify him, all you peoples! Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:1-4)

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

One of the disciples sees Jesus praying as he must have often seen him do and approaches him. The need to be close to God as Jesus is close to him stirs in the disciple the desire to know how Jesus prays. In Luke’s version of the familiar Lord’s Prayer, we hear the acknowledgment of God’s holiness and the Son’s commitment to accomplish his will. When forgiveness is ours to give to others, God is able in turn to forgive us our sins. In perfect filial trust, Jesus prays for the protection and care that only the Father is capable of. Our Father is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel acclamation, we hear: “You have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters through which we cry: Abba! Father!”

God, as much as I have hopes about the course of the day, its actual unfolding is not in my hands but in yours. Help me trust in your mercy and abandon all of my hopes and desires to you; do with them what you will. As Saint John Henry Newman said: “I come to you, O Lord, not only because I am unhappy without you, not only because I feel I need you, but because your grace draws me on to seek you for your own sake, because you are so glorious and beautiful.” Saint John Leonardi, pray for us!

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.

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

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.

“Lord, teach us to pray.” | Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:1-4)

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

In today’s Gospel, one of the disciples observes Jesus praying. He waits until Jesus finishes and asks that Jesus teach him to pray. The form of this prayer is worded differently than the Our Father we hear in Matthew or say regularly, but the content is the same. It is the Father Jesus addresses in prayer; in it, he asks for the Father’s daily sustenance—both physical and spiritual—forgiveness and forgiving, and protection against sin and temptation. Observing from the outside looking in, the disciple asks Jesus how to pray. Through the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus invites him into the sacred space of intimacy and unity the Son has with his Father.

Father in heaven, help me come to know your love through the Lord’s Prayer. Let me take time today to say it slowly throughout the day, letting it permeate the day’s events and give meaning to them. 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.

From the Gospel acclamation: “You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!” Lord, teach me to pray!

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.

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

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.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares with his disciples what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Before teaching them how to pray, Jesus tells the disciples how not to pray. God does not hear our prayers better when we babble many words; he hears us and knows what we need, Jesus says, even before we pray. After saying the Lord’s Prayer with the disciples, Jesus adds: “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.” Part of our “daily bread” is to ask God to forgive us just as we forgive others who have wronged us. In giving, we receive; in forgiving, we are forgiven.

God, as I pray the Our Father, help me hear each word and take to heart what I am saying. In today’s short Gospel passage, Jesus says the word forgive six times. What is there to forgive every day but trespasses (offenses) and transgressions (wrongdoing)? How many times today will I do wrong and expect your forgiveness? Just as many times, give me the grace to show mercy and forgiveness when I am wronged by a stranger or those closest to me.

You alone are just, Lord; you are mercy itself. Help me imitate your Son. From the responsorial psalm: “Majesty and glory are his work, and his justice endures forever. He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the LORD.”

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.