Our family prayer: The Our Father

Friends in Christ, our Lord tells us today, that when we pray, we should not babble on and on like the pagans do. The early fathers of the church used to pray many, very short prayers during the course of the day, many aspirations; they warned against prayers that go on and on, because it is easy to become forgetful of who we are speaking to, and easy to loose the fervor, when we rattle off tons of prayers – quality is better than quantity.

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Today, Our Lord gives us the BEST prayer to say: the Our Father. From the earliest days, the Lord’s Prayer, has been our family prayer, which we say together at Mass before Holy Communion.

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All prayer should begin by glorifying God, and indeed, we begin by saying: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

May thy Name by hallowed – may it be holy.  And so we speak with respect about God and His Name. There is even a society dedicated to guarding the honor of God’s Name, called the Holy Name Society.

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‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.

‘We desire Lord, that – not my own plans be done, but your plan, your will. ‘Your will, today, in my life – make it known to me, help me do it. ‘Help me to accept what is difficult, as your plan. ‘Thy kingdom come – When people ask: why are there so many evil people in the world? We say, because the kingdom of God has not come everywhere yet.

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We pray that the Lord’s will be done on earth, as it already being done in heaven. The saints in heaven are already are doing God’s will perfectly; they are praising God and praying for us. Let it be so on earth as it is in heaven.

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‘Give us this day our daily bread – this is the bread of the Holy Eucharist that we ask for. The Greek here literally means, ‘give us today this super-substantial bread, this bread which is supernatural. ‘Lord, would that I could receive the Bread of Life daily, make me worthy to receive you. Give me this Bread, that I may live forever.

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St. Catherine was overjoyed when her confessor gave her permission to receive Holy Communion every day, not just on Sunday; we too should be very prepared when we are going to receive the Lord.

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‘Forgive us our trespasses; we promise to forgive those sinning against us. How can God forgive us, if we fail to forgive others? We can’t enter heaven bearing a grudge.

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And ‘Lead us not, into temptation – Lord, we are weak as water. This life is a spiritual war against demons – I cannot withstand temptation without You in my life.

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‘Deliver us Lord, from evil.’ Literally, deliver us from the Evil One, from Satan. Let us not fall for his tricks. Lord, guard me from hell.

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St. Alphonsus says, no one can be saved, unless they pray. The great prayer: The Our Father, is our family prayer. If you are in God’s family the Church, you say this prayer!