July 25, 2010: 17 Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do you really PRAY the Lord's Prayer?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray.
Jesus 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.’” (Luke 11:2-4)

The words are little different, but we immediately recognize this prayer; we call it the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer. It is the perfect prayer. It is perfect because Jesus taught it to us. In this prayer we acknowledge God’s closeness to us; He is our Father. We unite ourselves with God and to God’s work in our life and in our world. In unity with God, we have all that we need and we are able to do what we must do. Saint Mother Theodore said, “Let us attach ourselves to God with all our hearts and He will take care of us.”

Action:

Hopefully you say the Lord’s Prayer often. But do you pray it? The next time you say the Lord’s Prayer, put your heart and mind into the words and really pray as Jesus has taught us to pray.