Words, whether they come from God or us, have the power of meaning behind them. Meaning gives words life because we are able to understand what is said, and why the word has been communicated. Quite often we get the feeling that the more we say, the more power there will be behind the meaning of what's said. But what we find is this: It is better to speak the truth with simplicity and clarity.
The Lord's Prayer is as perfect a prayer as there can be. It was spoken by Jesus as an example of prayer for his followers. It was remembered by them and has been handed down from generation to generation for nearly 2,000 years. It is a prayer we as Roman Catholics and followers of Jesus Christ say daily. The Lord's Prayer says it all. Jesus called God "Abba" which means "Poppa," or "Daddy." It is delightful to think of God as a loving dad who listens to his children.
The petitions we ask in this prayer are much deeper than the call to piety or holiness because they are about our physical, emotinal and spiritual needs. We cannot live without food and so we pray for our daily bread to sustain us. This bread is sacramental, it is Eucharisitic, but it is also physical. We are dependent upon this food for our lives.
In these angry times we pray for mercy for our own sins, and for the sins others commit against us. Mercy is a powerful emotional gift of healing. We are so deeply wounded by many hard words and actions, and mercy is the salve that calms our suffering.
As children, it is easy for us to lose our way, no matter what our age, and so we need to depend upon the light of Christ to guide us on our way. We have to trust that light, believe in its goodness, and follow it with firm resolve so that we will be delivered from evil. By ourselves, we tend to get lost. With this helpful prayer we are given great hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment