The OUR FATHER Understanding our call to Prayer

The Sea of Galilee – The Mount of the Beatitudes

The Our Father  The “Our Father” is the prayer that Jesus gave his disciples.  It is the only prayer that Jesus gave us directly. So, for Christians the “Our Father” is one of the most important prayers.  According to the CCC, the “Our Father” is a summary of the entire gospel ! It summarizes Jesus’ whole message of salvation – of trust and love for the Father.

The ACTS of Prayer  Adoration: Take time to adore the Lord and give Him the affection of your heart.  Contrition: Here, we take time to recognize our sinful nature, and we ask God for forgiveness.  Thanksgiving: We thank God for the blessings in our lives.  Supplication: We ask God for things. THE BASIC TYPES OF PRAYER!

The Our Father 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.

BREAKING IT DOWN  “Our Father, who art in heaven… hallowed be thy name”  “ OUR” is important here. It’s not just because we are saying this prayer together as a church.  We as individuals are sons and daughters of the Father because we are united to the True SON of the Father. We become adopted sons and daughters of the Father. So when we say OUR FATHER, the OUR here also refers to OURSELVES and JESUS!  For Christians, this unity between us and Christ happens at BAPTISM.

Breaking it Down  Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done… Give us this Day our Dailey Bread  Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done…  Supplication … ask God to bring the Kingdom down and God’s will to be accomplished. The Kingdom of God is what God wills, and this prayer asks us to Put God’s will before our own!  Dailey Bread  Not just about our food!  St. Jerome compares this to manna from Exodus, calling it our Supernatural Bread. For the Church this is a reminder of our Supernatural Bread – the Eucharist !

Breaking it Down  Forgive us our trespasses… As we forgive those…  Contrition: here we ask God to forgive our sins.  It is a reminder for us of the power of God’s forgiveness – especially in Reconciliation ! We are also reminded of the Beatitudes Blessed are the merciful! Mercy as an essential part of being a Christian.

Forgiveness and the Kingdom  Matthew 18: 21-22: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  Jesus commands us to Forgive all the time, every time!  Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  We forgive others because we recognize that no one is perfect! Remember the story of the woman who about to be stoned for adultery -  Luke 6:36 ”Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”  We forgive others because we are called to be like our Father in heaven!

Breaking it Down Deliver us from Evil  Supplication again. Here we ask to preserve us and protect us from all temptations and evil.  We are reminded in this prayer that there is a spiritual war going on. We need God’s help to strengthen us from the snares of the devil.  If Christ was tempted, so are we!