We must desire God. We place ourselves in the presence of God, through the prayer that Jesus taught us The ‘Our Father’. The first 3 petitions draw us toward the glory of the Father; (Thy name, Thy Kingdom and Thy will) the last 4 petitions, as ways toward Him, we commend our wretchedness to His grace.
The first 3 petitions are addressed to the Father, by this we are strengthened in faith, hope and Charity.
The first 3 petitions are addressed to the Father, by this we are strengthened in faith, hope and Charity.
"Hallowed be Thy name."
Asking the Father that His name be made holy draws us into His plan of loving kindness.
Our Father calls us to holiness in the whole of our life. For God's name is blessed when we live well, We ask then that, just as the name of God is holy, so we may obtain His holiness in our souls.
When we say "hallowed be thy name," we
ask that it should be hallowed in us, who are in Him; but also we ask that it
be so in all men.
"Thy Kingdom come."
The Kingdom of God is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ's death and Resurrection. In the Eucharist, it is in our midst. In the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come" refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ's return. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ's death and Resurrection. In the Eucharist, it is in our midst. In the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come" refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ's return. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
John 13:34 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
This commandment summarizes God’s will. In Christ, the will of the Father has been perfectly fulfilled. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus in His agony prays: "not my will, but yours be done." Jesus offered Himself as a ransom and was obedient to death according to the will of The Father.
If any one does God’s will, God listens to him. Jesus teaches us that one enters the kingdom of Heaven not by speaking words, but by doing "the will of my Father in heaven."
The last 4 petitions go up from us and concern us from this very moment, in our present world: give us. . forgive us . . lead us . . deliver us . . The last two concern our battle for the victory of life.
Being still sinners, we have to petition for us, which we offer to the boundless love of God. For through Christ and the Holy Spirit, our Father accomplishes His plan of salvation for the whole world.
"Give us this day our daily bread."
The Eucharistic liturgy is celebrated each day. The Eucharist is the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, without which we have no life within us.
Jesus teaches us this petition, because it glorifies our Father by acknowledging He is, beyond all goodness.
We pray to Our Father for all of mankind, with their needs and sufferings. Jesus insists on our trust that cooperates with our surrender to Our Father's providence.
We pray to Our Father for all of mankind, with their needs and sufferings. Jesus insists on our trust that cooperates with our surrender to Our Father's providence.
"Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,"
The Eucharist – The Body of Christ is our daily bread. It is a bond of union. Our Father in Heaven urges us, as children to ask for the bread of Heaven Christ.
"And Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
"And forgive us our trespasses," will not
be heard unless we have first met a strict requirement—“we forgive those who
trespass against us”. Our petition looks to the future, but our response
must come first, for the two parts are joined by the single word
"as."
We recognize that we are wretched sinners and we
implore His mercy. In Jesus, we have the forgiveness of sins. When
we have forgiven others who have trespassed against us we will begin to
experience the outpouring of mercy. When we confess our sins, our hearts are
opened to His grace. "Be merciful, even
as your Father is merciful" We need to be forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave us.
Forgiveness is crucial. We need the grace of God to
forget an offense, injury cause to us; but the heart that offers itself to the
Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion. Our prayer extends
to the forgiveness of enemies.
The command is to be reconciled – to make peace with ones brother.
"Lead us not into temptation."
We ask God not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We must also with the grace of God discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation.
"Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the heart: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. . . . God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it."
It is by His prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of His public mission and in the ultimate struggle of His agony.
We ask God not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We must also with the grace of God discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation.
"Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the heart: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. . . . God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it."
It is by His prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of His public mission and in the ultimate struggle of His agony.
"But deliver us from evil. Amen."
We know that we are of God, and the one who entrusts himself to God does not fear the devil. "If God is for us, who can be against?" Victory over the devil was won when Jesus in obedience to the Father sacrificed Himself up to a death on the Cross.
When we ask to be delivered from Evil, we pray to be freed from all evils. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance.
We know that we are of God, and the one who entrusts himself to God does not fear the devil. "If God is for us, who can be against?" Victory over the devil was won when Jesus in obedience to the Father sacrificed Himself up to a death on the Cross.
When we ask to be delivered from Evil, we pray to be freed from all evils. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance.
Please also continue to read:
THY Kingdom Come! Part 2
Every HeartBeat of mine!
Way to Believe...
Way to Pray. . .
Mass Etiquette
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