“… Lord, teach us to pray…” – Luke 11:1
Sometimes, repeating prayers often blur their value. But pausing for a while and thinking about the “Lord’s Prayer,” we can actually pick out things that we can incorporate in our own prayers.
Jesus always emphasized the two greatest commandments: love of God and neighbor. The Lord’s Prayer incorporates these in the right priority.
It is communal. You cannot pray it without including others. When we say “Our,” it means we think of others in our prayer.
It is personal. When we say, “As we forgive those who sin against us,” this includes us. We need to forgive ourselves too.
It is ecumenical. Read through it. There is nothingspecifically Christian about it. Any religion can pray it withoutoffending their own beliefs.
It’s a family thing. When we say “Father,” we declare what God has often emphasized to us — that we are God’s children.
So in our own prayer lives, let’s remember the lessons Jesus taught us and let God draw near to us. Rod Velez (rod.velez@gmail.com)
Reflection: Think about the most stressful person you met this week. Can you pray with sincerity the parts that say, “Forgive us our sins” and “forgive those who sinned against us”?
Lord, as we learn to pray from You, grant us the grace to celebrate our growth and also accept in humility the things we do not like about ourselves.
St. John XXIII, pray for us.
from Didache 10.11.2017
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