Fr. Jim, who had just flown in from a retreat he had given in warm and sunny California to cold and snowy Wisconsin, gave a brilliant talk on The Lord's Prayer with reflections from St. Teresa of Avila and Pope Benedict XVI. His talk was so fascinating that two hours flew quickly by as if I had only been listening for ten minutes!
Fr. Jim said that two versions of The Lord's Prayer could be found within the bible, a longer version in Matthew as part of the Sermon on the Mount, and a shorter version in Luke, Chapter 11, right after the story of Martha and Mary in which Martha was worried and anxious about many things and Jesus rebuked her for her anxiety stating that Mary chose the better part. Martha wasn't really worried about serving Jesus, but she was more worried about herself and how she cooked and the work she was doing. Whenever we're worried, Fr. Jim pointed out, it's because we are thinking about ourselves. Jesus teaches us the great prayer of trust that counters Martha's worry and anxiety.
St. Teresa tells us that The Lord's Prayer is the prayer that we should esteem the most and can apply to our own needs stating, "I marvel to see that in so few words everything about contemplation and perfection is included." And Pope Benedict states that "When we pray the Our Father we are praying to God with words given by God."
Our Father
Beginning with the name "Father", St. Teresa tells us that "this one word alone should lead to contemplation." Every human person is made in the image and likeness of God and is a child of God with an immortal soul. Adopted children don't have the same DNA as their adoptive parents, but as adopted children of God, flooded with sanctifying grace at our baptisms, we are filled with His DNA. As St. John tells us, "See what love God has bestowed upon us that we may be called the children of God, and yet, so we are."
It's natural for men and women to identify themselves with their success or their appearance. Jesus tells us not to lose our identity on something that will come and go, but to find your identity in the love of God for you. Rejoice because your names are written in heaven! The Lord's Prayer reveals us to ourselves and reveals the Father to us. God loves us so much that he changes us and makes us His sons and daughters. St. Cyprian teaches us that when we call God our Father, we ought to behave and act as sons and daughters of God with humility.
We don't say "my" Father but "our" Father. There is no individualism here. God loves each one of us as though we were the only child made in His image and likeness, yet God's image is not just One but Three. We recognize that we are called to love our brothers and sisters. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that when we pray the Our Father, we leave concern for ourselves behind, oppositions and divisions have to be overcome. The baptized cannot pray the Our Father without bringing before Him all of His beloved children and the needs of all the Church and the world.
Who Art in Heaven
This line reminds us of our ultimate goal. We are not made just for life on this earth. St. Teresa says that "God is sought in many places but found ultimately within yourself. Therefore, recollection is so important. We collect our thoughts and find God in a quiet place, the chamber of our hearts." Heaven is within. Heaven is not a place, but a way of being. God is within the hearts of the just as in His holy temple.
The Eucharist is the closest thing to heaven. It's heaven on earth. We find the entire communion of saints in the Eucharist, therefore, we should receive the Eucharist as often as possible.
Hallowed Be Thy Name
There is a sense of control and power in knowing another person's name. Teachers, for example, can more effectively discipline their students by saying their name out loud. But calling others by their name is also a sign of care. To know a person's name is to be in relationship with that person.
In the second commandment we are told not to take the name of the Lord your God in vain but to treat that name as a holy name. So in keeping this commandment we commit ourselves to only speak God's name in prayer, not as a word of surprise.
When we give scandal through our actions, we also give dishonor to God's name. When we publicly sin people ask incredulously, "And you're a Christian?" God said that we bring dishonor to His name when we rebel against Him and act sinfully. We are responsible for the sanctification of God's name.
Thy Kingdom Come
Pope Benedict tells us that we acknowledge first and foremost the primacy of God. Where God is absent, nothing can be good. This refers primarily to the final coming. This prayer engages us, this desire commits us all the more strongly to living Kingdom values in our own lives. We ask God to reign here in our hearts and then to extend that reign to our friends and family through us.
Thy Will Be Done
Our Father desires that all people be saved and come to knowledge of the truth. This is good and pleasing to God who wills that everyone be saved. Pope Benedict tells us that where God's will is done, that's heaven. Earth becomes heaven in so far as God's will is done. We're here to learn to love God totally. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father. Union with Jesus gives us grace and power to do the will of God perfectly. St. Teresa states that she believes that "the only way to come to heaven is to want only what God wants. Let us place ourselves in His hands so that His will is done in us. We cannot err with this attitude. Trust that God's will is the best."
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
This is the most human of all petitions. Give us the trust of children who look to their Father for everything, in contrast to the way of the world which is all about self-sufficiency and independence. God told the Hebrews to gather manna in the desert, but to only gather enough for one day. We have a human tendency to hoard and to find our security in things.
Epiousios, a Greek word not found anywhere else in the Bible but here is translated as "daily". But St. Jerome translated it as "superstansiolis" meaning "superstantial". St. Jerome pointed to the higher substance that God gives us in this passage of the prayer. This fourth petition of The Lord's Prayer is a Eucharistic petition; we are asking to receive the Eucharist daily. This presents a challenge. Do we value the Eucharist enough to participate as much as possible, even attending daily Mass during the week? St. Thomas Aquinas said that what happened at the last supper was the greatest miracle of Jesus. If we really believe that, how can we not be at Mass and receive the Eucharist every single day?
St. Teresa tells us that unless we give our wills entirely to the Lord we will never be allowed to drink from the fount of good prayer, that is, contemplation. We can't do it on our own. We're too weak and self-centered. But when we receive the Eucharist we get the strength to unite our will with Christ. We are more able to fulfill the will of the Father as Jesus did. St. Teresa, speaking in this passage about herself said, "I know a person with serious illnesses. Because the wonders this Sacred Bread effects in those who receive it, the Lord had given her such living faith that when someone said that they wished they could have lived at the time of Christ, she laughed, because when they receive the Eucharist, they have Him now, and not just one last supper, but He can do that for us everyday. This person, though she wasn't perfect, strove to live His will every day. Spend time after Communion to be with Him and converse with Him. Strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your own heart."
If we can't receive Communion every day, we should make a spiritual communion. Say, "Lord, I wish I could receive You now. Come to me spiritually." Then spend time reflecting on His Eucharistic presence. With this we grow to perfection, not so much in how we are feeling, but in how we act; how we love.
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Having received daily Bread we now have the power to forgive as Jesus did. Pope Benedict tells us that forgiveness is a theme that pervades the whole Gospel. It's astonishing because it makes a strict requirement of us. When hurt or attacked our tendency is to hold on to a grudge. But our petition will not be heard unless we have first met this strict requirement of forgiveness. If we say we are without sin, we are liars, St. John tells us. So with bold confidence we pray to Our Father begging Him to forgive us. This is daunting.
Jesus often used the word "as" such as "Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful." Holiness means loving and forgiving as Jesus did. It is not in our power to forget or not to feel hurt, but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion. Jesus transformed his hurt into intercession. "Father, forgive those who are doing this to me."
It takes two to be reconciled. The only sin that is retained is the one that we don't bring to the Lord for forgiveness.
We need to pray for the conversion of sinners. We pray for the conversion of every human soul, not for their condemnation or destruction. Being ready to forgive our enemies means praying for them and their ultimate conversion.
St. Teresa tells us not to trust too much in prayer that isn't forgiving.
Lead Us Not Into Temptation
God doesn't lead us into temptation. But God allows temptation, the temptation that comes from the devil. We don't know why He allows it. It could be for our self-knowledge and humility. It could be as a penance that we experience temptation to dampen our pride and avoid forming too high of an opinion of ourselves. It could be so that we grow in compassion because we suffer. When we see others who are tempted we can say, "There but for the grace of God go I." Because Jesus was tempted he can help others who are tempted, and so we can do the same, to help others who are tempted like us.
Finally, He could allow temptation for our growth. To make real progress on the path from superficial piety with God's will, man needs to be tried and tested. If you can identify your temptations, then God is calling you to grow in a particular virtue. Exercise that virtue and grow in it. St. Teresa tells us that the foundation of life consists in not only prayer, but also in virtue. Look for virtue, not in the corners away from the din, but right in the midst of the occasion of sin. We grow in union with Jesus when we fight temptation. The greatest saints had the greatest temptation. Jesus suffered our temptations to the bitter end.
Deliver Us From Evil
This last petition is also included in Jesus' prayer, "Don't take them out of the world but away from the evil one." It touches each one of us individually, bu it is always "we" who pray for the conversion of "all." With this petition we need to ask for nothing more. We've come to the end of our prayer. The last petition brings us back to the first three. St. Teresa tells us that evils will continue but through the Eucharist we are given the Bread that helps us to overcome the world.
Who Art in Heaven
This line reminds us of our ultimate goal. We are not made just for life on this earth. St. Teresa says that "God is sought in many places but found ultimately within yourself. Therefore, recollection is so important. We collect our thoughts and find God in a quiet place, the chamber of our hearts." Heaven is within. Heaven is not a place, but a way of being. God is within the hearts of the just as in His holy temple.
The Eucharist is the closest thing to heaven. It's heaven on earth. We find the entire communion of saints in the Eucharist, therefore, we should receive the Eucharist as often as possible.
Hallowed Be Thy Name
There is a sense of control and power in knowing another person's name. Teachers, for example, can more effectively discipline their students by saying their name out loud. But calling others by their name is also a sign of care. To know a person's name is to be in relationship with that person.
In the second commandment we are told not to take the name of the Lord your God in vain but to treat that name as a holy name. So in keeping this commandment we commit ourselves to only speak God's name in prayer, not as a word of surprise.
When we give scandal through our actions, we also give dishonor to God's name. When we publicly sin people ask incredulously, "And you're a Christian?" God said that we bring dishonor to His name when we rebel against Him and act sinfully. We are responsible for the sanctification of God's name.
Thy Kingdom Come
Pope Benedict tells us that we acknowledge first and foremost the primacy of God. Where God is absent, nothing can be good. This refers primarily to the final coming. This prayer engages us, this desire commits us all the more strongly to living Kingdom values in our own lives. We ask God to reign here in our hearts and then to extend that reign to our friends and family through us.
Thy Will Be Done
Our Father desires that all people be saved and come to knowledge of the truth. This is good and pleasing to God who wills that everyone be saved. Pope Benedict tells us that where God's will is done, that's heaven. Earth becomes heaven in so far as God's will is done. We're here to learn to love God totally. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father. Union with Jesus gives us grace and power to do the will of God perfectly. St. Teresa states that she believes that "the only way to come to heaven is to want only what God wants. Let us place ourselves in His hands so that His will is done in us. We cannot err with this attitude. Trust that God's will is the best."
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
This is the most human of all petitions. Give us the trust of children who look to their Father for everything, in contrast to the way of the world which is all about self-sufficiency and independence. God told the Hebrews to gather manna in the desert, but to only gather enough for one day. We have a human tendency to hoard and to find our security in things.
Epiousios, a Greek word not found anywhere else in the Bible but here is translated as "daily". But St. Jerome translated it as "superstansiolis" meaning "superstantial". St. Jerome pointed to the higher substance that God gives us in this passage of the prayer. This fourth petition of The Lord's Prayer is a Eucharistic petition; we are asking to receive the Eucharist daily. This presents a challenge. Do we value the Eucharist enough to participate as much as possible, even attending daily Mass during the week? St. Thomas Aquinas said that what happened at the last supper was the greatest miracle of Jesus. If we really believe that, how can we not be at Mass and receive the Eucharist every single day?
St. Teresa tells us that unless we give our wills entirely to the Lord we will never be allowed to drink from the fount of good prayer, that is, contemplation. We can't do it on our own. We're too weak and self-centered. But when we receive the Eucharist we get the strength to unite our will with Christ. We are more able to fulfill the will of the Father as Jesus did. St. Teresa, speaking in this passage about herself said, "I know a person with serious illnesses. Because the wonders this Sacred Bread effects in those who receive it, the Lord had given her such living faith that when someone said that they wished they could have lived at the time of Christ, she laughed, because when they receive the Eucharist, they have Him now, and not just one last supper, but He can do that for us everyday. This person, though she wasn't perfect, strove to live His will every day. Spend time after Communion to be with Him and converse with Him. Strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your own heart."
If we can't receive Communion every day, we should make a spiritual communion. Say, "Lord, I wish I could receive You now. Come to me spiritually." Then spend time reflecting on His Eucharistic presence. With this we grow to perfection, not so much in how we are feeling, but in how we act; how we love.
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Having received daily Bread we now have the power to forgive as Jesus did. Pope Benedict tells us that forgiveness is a theme that pervades the whole Gospel. It's astonishing because it makes a strict requirement of us. When hurt or attacked our tendency is to hold on to a grudge. But our petition will not be heard unless we have first met this strict requirement of forgiveness. If we say we are without sin, we are liars, St. John tells us. So with bold confidence we pray to Our Father begging Him to forgive us. This is daunting.
Jesus often used the word "as" such as "Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful." Holiness means loving and forgiving as Jesus did. It is not in our power to forget or not to feel hurt, but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion. Jesus transformed his hurt into intercession. "Father, forgive those who are doing this to me."
It takes two to be reconciled. The only sin that is retained is the one that we don't bring to the Lord for forgiveness.
We need to pray for the conversion of sinners. We pray for the conversion of every human soul, not for their condemnation or destruction. Being ready to forgive our enemies means praying for them and their ultimate conversion.
St. Teresa tells us not to trust too much in prayer that isn't forgiving.
Lead Us Not Into Temptation
God doesn't lead us into temptation. But God allows temptation, the temptation that comes from the devil. We don't know why He allows it. It could be for our self-knowledge and humility. It could be as a penance that we experience temptation to dampen our pride and avoid forming too high of an opinion of ourselves. It could be so that we grow in compassion because we suffer. When we see others who are tempted we can say, "There but for the grace of God go I." Because Jesus was tempted he can help others who are tempted, and so we can do the same, to help others who are tempted like us.
Finally, He could allow temptation for our growth. To make real progress on the path from superficial piety with God's will, man needs to be tried and tested. If you can identify your temptations, then God is calling you to grow in a particular virtue. Exercise that virtue and grow in it. St. Teresa tells us that the foundation of life consists in not only prayer, but also in virtue. Look for virtue, not in the corners away from the din, but right in the midst of the occasion of sin. We grow in union with Jesus when we fight temptation. The greatest saints had the greatest temptation. Jesus suffered our temptations to the bitter end.
Deliver Us From Evil
This last petition is also included in Jesus' prayer, "Don't take them out of the world but away from the evil one." It touches each one of us individually, bu it is always "we" who pray for the conversion of "all." With this petition we need to ask for nothing more. We've come to the end of our prayer. The last petition brings us back to the first three. St. Teresa tells us that evils will continue but through the Eucharist we are given the Bread that helps us to overcome the world.
