From Roberto Juarez:
"Jesus teaches us that prayer is not a mechanical ritual, but a sincere dialogue with God. It is not a question of the number of words, but of trust and love. God already knows our needs, but He wants us to approach Him with an open heart. Do I pray with my heart or do I just repeat meaningless words?
The Lord's Prayer is a perfect model of prayer:
• "Our Father" → reminds us that we are children of God and brothers and sisters among us.
• "Hallowed be your Name" → We express our desire for God to be glorified in the world.
• "Thy Kingdom come" → We long for His love and justice to transform humanity.
• "Thy will be done" → We open ourselves to accept His plans in our lives.
• "Give us this day our daily bread" → We trust in His providence for material and spiritual things.
• "Forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive" → We commit ourselves to living in forgiveness.
• "Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil" → We ask for your strength to overcome sin.
When I pray the Lord's Prayer, do I do so with awareness and commitment?
Forgiveness is key in the Christian life. We cannot receive God's love if we are not willing to share it with others. Do I have grudges in my heart? Am I willing to forgive as God forgives me?
• What is my prayer like? Do I seek a sincere encounter with God or do I just repeat words without thinking?
• How do I live forgiveness? Am I able to forgive or do I hold resentments in my heart?
• Do I put my life in God's hands? Do I trust in His will and His providence every day?
'Good Father,
Teach me to pray with my heart, with trust and love.
Help me to live the Lord's Prayer not only with my lips, but also with my lips.
but with my life.
Give me a humble heart to forgive
and strength to do your will each day.'
Amen....." end of quote from Roberto.
Bishop Robert Barron said today:
"Salvation, therefore, is a matter of the meeting of heaven and earth, so that God might reign as thoroughly here below as he does on high. Jesus' great prayer, which is constantly on the lips of Christians, is distinctively Jewish in inspiration: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
This is decidedly not a prayer that we might escape from the earth, but rather that earth and heaven might come together. The Lord's Prayer raises to a new level what the prophet Isaiah anticipated: "The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
The first Christians saw the Resurrection of Jesus as the commencement of the process by which earth and heaven were being reconciled. They appreciated the risen Christ as the one who would bring the justice of heaven to this world......" end quote.
Our Lord came from Heaven, to show us how to live, and how to pray.
How did He live? We learn that He lived in Holy Obedience. We learn, that He lived a life of giving. We learned that He looked at people with love, and other scoundrels He would speak with direct truths.
He lived speaking about His Father, and Our Father. He lived explaining the desires of Heaven, as if to be explaining what is to be expected of us, direct from the heart of Heaven...God our Father.
His Prayer, The Lord's Prayer, is the foundation of life. It stemmed from upwards of 13 daily Jewish prayers, condensed into one easy to remember, but not to be taken lightly, formidable prayer.
Maybe for Lent, we should take this prayer to heart. Maybe we should pray it slowly, and faithfully, and let every word sink into our soul. That we might live, both now and forever...on earth...as it is in Heaven....
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