One of the disciples of Jesus asks him to teach him how to pray, and so our Lord teaches
the greatest of all prayers, the Our Father. St. Luke here gives the shorthand version, while St. Matthew
gives the whole prayer that our Lord taught his disciples, and indeed, what is extraordinary
about this prayer is that it is the first time that the human family is asked directly to address
God as Father, and so at that moment, the Lord reveals God to truly be loved,
because we call upon him as a Father, and so it immediately brings to mind the mission of the Son
to reconcile us with God the Father, and so this prayer is the greatest of all prayers, because
it is wrought with the mercy of God, and it is divided into a two-fold manner, seven petitions,
some addressing love of God, others addressing love of neighbor, and so we first pray
that God would be addressed.
By all mankind as Father, and that his name would be hallowed, that is revered
upon all the earth, and so that all may come to recognize God as Father, and what is unique here
is that there is no other religion outside of the Catholic faith that formally addresses God
as Father. Even the chosen people of old, save a few, did not have that insight by which they knew
God was loved, because God, who is one, is also one.
The Holy Spirit is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and so we can pray to him with that
complete confidence that he desires one thing, the reconciliation of the human race with himself,
and indeed we know that full well, because he sent his only begotten Son in order that he may
undergo his passion, death, and resurrection for our sakes. And the other part of the prayer
is addressed to our neighbor, for we pray that all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us,
may be given their daily bread, and as many of the doctors and fathers point out,
this means the sustenance that all mankind needs, but more precisely, it means that all may receive
the Lord daily in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and so it is first a call to communion,
so that all mankind may come to communion and gain that strength by which they can truly overcome
their sins by recognizing God as Father, and so that all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us,
may be given their daily bread, and as many of the doctors and fathers point out, this means the
in the consecrated host, the very Son of God himself,
who in that host fulfills his promise to be with us even to the end of time.
And then we pray that God may forgive our sins
as we forgive all those who have sinned against us.
And finally, in summation, it beseeches God to deliver us from all evil,
both personal, societal, and all evils that afflict mankind,
most especially to deliver us from the machinations of the devil and his minions.
And so let us constantly have this prayer on our lips
because it speaks of God's love, of his mercy, and of his forgiveness
and our complete and total dependence upon him in order to overcome evil in every form.
And so let us pray always to God,
knowing that what is unique about our faith is that we truly,
that we truly,
with our hearts can address God as Father.
And so each moment we do, we come to know more and more
that God truly is love and that he does not wish the death of the sinner,
but that the sinner may be reconciled in this life with God the Father
in order that he may enjoy him for all eternity in heaven with the angels and saints.
And so let us praise our good God,
for no religion can claim that its master,
that is God himself, taught them how to pray.
And so, as in all things, we know for certainty that it is true when it came from the mouth of the Lord.
For he was truth incarnate and he came to deliver the message of the Father,
that message that was first revealed to our parents in their fall when God came and sought them out.
That is, he did not come in their sin to crush them,
but to begin that reconciliation that would culminate in the profound,
most profound act of love that this world will ever see
when God became man in order that man might become God.
And so let us praise our good God for all eternity in heaven with the angels and saints.
And so let us praise our good God for all eternity in heaven with the angels and saints.