Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy… and deliver us from the evil one…
John 12: 31-33
Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
John 14:30 -31
I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go…
John 16: 8 - 11
I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”). Then we prayed for three things for ourselves: food (spiritual and physical), forgiveness (for ourselves and others) and to overcome temptation.
Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s protection from evil even before his crucifixion: “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one."” (John 17:15) The reflection today is on three short passages from the gospel of John where Jesus speaks of his victory over the devil – so he is teaching us to pray every day that we can have the victory over evil which he has already won.
The “Evil One” (the Devil or Satan) is a real person and not merely an idea or concept. The church teaches us that he is a real spiritual person in the Catechism (2851): “In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God...” In the gospel (e.g. John 14:30) Jesus says that Satan is the “prince” of this world - but that he is not the King! …because he also says “I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
We need not fear because “’Victory over the "prince of this world’ was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life.” (Catechism 2853). We can therefore pray that in following Jesus we will experience his victory over evil and the Devil. This prayer can include asking for freedom from all the effects of evil, including oppression by Satan and his forces, peace from his attacks, healing of our bodies and minds, and God’s light to fight the confusion and doubt he puts in our minds. (If we are really struggling with these we should ask for help from other Christians, and especially the Sacraments).
The mass continues after the Our Father with a beautiful prayer which expresses this hope for our final victory before we see the Lord in Heaven: "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."
As we finish reflecting on the Our Father, let’s not fear evil, and let’s look forward to Jesus coming in victory to take us to Heaven!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Our Father Reflection 8: “…and lead us not into temptation…”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy… and lead us not into temptation…
Luke 4: 1-14
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”).
What should we pray for every day, for ourselves? We have already prayed for ourselves for “our daily bread” and for forgiveness from God for ourselves (“as we forgive others”). Maybe it’s easy to know that we need food (natural and spiritual) and forgiveness every day. But now Jesus also teaches us to ask every day for our Father’s help in the fight with temptation. “Our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation… the Greek means both ‘do not allow us to enter into temptation’ and ‘do not let us yield to temptation’” (Catechism 2847)
Fighting temptation is hard. There are evil spirits who try to get us to do wrong and it can be hard to know when we are being tempted, so there is often a battle in our minds between what we know Father wants us to do, and our weak and sinful nature. A gift we need for this is discernment: “The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials [difficulties], which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death.” (Catechism 2847)
Having discerned that we are being pulled towards something evil, our hearts need to decide to be faithful to following Jesus: “ ’Lead us not into temptation’ implies a decision of the heart: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’. . . . ‘No one can serve two masters’." (Catechism 2848)
In today’s passage Jesus is tempted and shows us by example that the Word of God is the weapon that that we use to fight temptation.
Let’s pray that like Jesus, we discern when we are tempted, that we decide to be faithful, that we fight the enemy with the Word of God, and that we continue every day to obey our Father “in the power of the Spirit…”!
Luke 4: 1-14
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”).
What should we pray for every day, for ourselves? We have already prayed for ourselves for “our daily bread” and for forgiveness from God for ourselves (“as we forgive others”). Maybe it’s easy to know that we need food (natural and spiritual) and forgiveness every day. But now Jesus also teaches us to ask every day for our Father’s help in the fight with temptation. “Our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation… the Greek means both ‘do not allow us to enter into temptation’ and ‘do not let us yield to temptation’” (Catechism 2847)
Fighting temptation is hard. There are evil spirits who try to get us to do wrong and it can be hard to know when we are being tempted, so there is often a battle in our minds between what we know Father wants us to do, and our weak and sinful nature. A gift we need for this is discernment: “The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials [difficulties], which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death.” (Catechism 2847)
Having discerned that we are being pulled towards something evil, our hearts need to decide to be faithful to following Jesus: “ ’Lead us not into temptation’ implies a decision of the heart: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’. . . . ‘No one can serve two masters’." (Catechism 2848)
In today’s passage Jesus is tempted and shows us by example that the Word of God is the weapon that that we use to fight temptation.
Let’s pray that like Jesus, we discern when we are tempted, that we decide to be faithful, that we fight the enemy with the Word of God, and that we continue every day to obey our Father “in the power of the Spirit…”!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Our Father Reflection 7: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, …, Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us...
Matthew 18: 21-35
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”). Last week we prayed for ourselves for the first time, for “our daily bread”.
Jesus now teaches us now to pray for forgiveness from God for ourselves: (Catechism 2839) “With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him. Our petition begins with a "confession" of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the sacraments of his Church.”
However Jesus teaches us to pray “…as we forgive…” to make it very clear that for us to be forgiven we must forgive others. (Catechism 2840) “This outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us.” He also teaches this in two other places in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6:14-15; 5:23-24; Mk 11:25.)
Today’s passage for reflection is a very strong parable told by Jesus about the absolute need for us to forgive those who sin against us “from our heart”. The parable Jesus told answers St. Peter’s question in that we who have been forgiven much must identify with the first servant, and in humility should recognise our obligation to forgive those around who by comparison are to be forgiven much less.
Let’s pray that the grace of forgiveness will flow to us, and through us, as Jesus wanted!
Matthew 18: 21-35
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”). Last week we prayed for ourselves for the first time, for “our daily bread”.
Jesus now teaches us now to pray for forgiveness from God for ourselves: (Catechism 2839) “With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him. Our petition begins with a "confession" of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the sacraments of his Church.”
However Jesus teaches us to pray “…as we forgive…” to make it very clear that for us to be forgiven we must forgive others. (Catechism 2840) “This outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us.” He also teaches this in two other places in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6:14-15; 5:23-24; Mk 11:25.)
Today’s passage for reflection is a very strong parable told by Jesus about the absolute need for us to forgive those who sin against us “from our heart”. The parable Jesus told answers St. Peter’s question in that we who have been forgiven much must identify with the first servant, and in humility should recognise our obligation to forgive those around who by comparison are to be forgiven much less.
Let’s pray that the grace of forgiveness will flow to us, and through us, as Jesus wanted!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Our Father Reflection 6: “Give us today our daily bread”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, …, give us today our daily bread…
Matthew 6: 24 - 34
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”) So far in the Our Father we have not even mentioned ourselves – Jesus is teaching us to put our Father first and get our priorities right! We are to “seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness”, before “all these (other) things will be given you besides.” (Verse 31).
But of course out of his love for us, our Father does want to look after our needs, so Jesus now teaches us to trustingly ask four things for ourselves: Daily bread, forgiveness, help with temptation, and deliverance from the evil one. This week we pray for “our daily bread”.
After he gives us the Our Father, Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6 not to be a slave to money (verse 24), and not to worry about the things we need to eat, drink or wear (verse 31). He says unbelievers are seeking (longing for) these things. Instead we are to trust that “our Heavenly Father knows that you need them all”. “The trust of children who look to their Father for everything is beautiful” (Catechism 2828).
We also trust our Father for another kind of bread every day: “ ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but . . . by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’… For this reason the specifically Christian sense of this fourth petition concerns the Bread of Life: The Word of God accepted in faith, the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist” (Catechism 2835).
Let’s pray with a childlike trust like Jesus for all our needs, both physical and spiritual!
Matthew 6: 24 - 34
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three have all been to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”) So far in the Our Father we have not even mentioned ourselves – Jesus is teaching us to put our Father first and get our priorities right! We are to “seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness”, before “all these (other) things will be given you besides.” (Verse 31).
But of course out of his love for us, our Father does want to look after our needs, so Jesus now teaches us to trustingly ask four things for ourselves: Daily bread, forgiveness, help with temptation, and deliverance from the evil one. This week we pray for “our daily bread”.
After he gives us the Our Father, Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6 not to be a slave to money (verse 24), and not to worry about the things we need to eat, drink or wear (verse 31). He says unbelievers are seeking (longing for) these things. Instead we are to trust that “our Heavenly Father knows that you need them all”. “The trust of children who look to their Father for everything is beautiful” (Catechism 2828).
We also trust our Father for another kind of bread every day: “ ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but . . . by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’… For this reason the specifically Christian sense of this fourth petition concerns the Bread of Life: The Word of God accepted in faith, the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist” (Catechism 2835).
Let’s pray with a childlike trust like Jesus for all our needs, both physical and spiritual!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Our Father Reflection 5: “May what You want be done on earth, as it is in Heaven”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, …, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…
Matthew 26: 36 - 46
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I want, but as you want." 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? …Look, my betrayer is at hand…"
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three are all to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”), before we ask four things for ourselves.
This week we look at “May your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. “In the third petition, we ask our Father to unite our will to that of his Son, so as to fulfil his plan of salvation in the life of the world.” (Catechism 2860).
A “will” is what a dying person leaves behind as a plan for what they want to be done. The Father’s will is what he wants done, a plan that he has formed in Heaven: his plan is to save us. He “wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2 3-4). "He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ . . . to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1: 9-11)
Obedience to what someone else wants is not easy for us. In Hebrews 5 verses 7-9 it says that even Jesus “learned” obedience to his Father: “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”.
The Father sent Jesus to be obedient to this plan to save us, so Jesus is our example of obedience. In the passage from Matthew Jesus prays for the strength to be obedient, and shows his love for the Father by obedience in being prepared to die for us.
What a loving Saviour who prays with us that what his Father wants will happen, and obeys! He leads us by example and sends his Spirit to strengthen us. Let’s pray with Jesus that what the Father wants will happen!
Matthew 26: 36 - 46
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I want, but as you want." 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? …Look, my betrayer is at hand…"
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three are all to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”), before we ask four things for ourselves.
This week we look at “May your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. “In the third petition, we ask our Father to unite our will to that of his Son, so as to fulfil his plan of salvation in the life of the world.” (Catechism 2860).
A “will” is what a dying person leaves behind as a plan for what they want to be done. The Father’s will is what he wants done, a plan that he has formed in Heaven: his plan is to save us. He “wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2 3-4). "He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ . . . to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1: 9-11)
Obedience to what someone else wants is not easy for us. In Hebrews 5 verses 7-9 it says that even Jesus “learned” obedience to his Father: “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”.
The Father sent Jesus to be obedient to this plan to save us, so Jesus is our example of obedience. In the passage from Matthew Jesus prays for the strength to be obedient, and shows his love for the Father by obedience in being prepared to die for us.
What a loving Saviour who prays with us that what his Father wants will happen, and obeys! He leads us by example and sends his Spirit to strengthen us. Let’s pray with Jesus that what the Father wants will happen!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Our Father Reflection 4: “May your Reign come”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, …, your kingdom come…
Matt 13: 9 – 24-43
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three are all to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”), before we ask four things for ourselves. Last we reflected on the first (“may your name be kept holy”), this week we look at “May your kingdom come”.
Jesus’ Kingdom is wherever Jesus is King! The Catechism says the word Kingdom here can be understood as the “Reign” of Jesus (2816). So when we pray this prayer we are thinking of the future when Jesus will come again, and thinking of how he can reign more today, in the world, beginning with our own hearts:(2859) “By the second petition, the Church looks first to Christ's return and the final coming of the Reign of God. It also prays for the growth of the Kingdom of God in the ‘today’ of our own lives.”
In the parable from Matthew 13 Jesus uses a picture of wheat and weeds in the same field to tells us about the future Kingdom of Heaven where we will “shine like the sun”. He says the harvest is in the future (“at the end of the age” verse 40), but that we are already “the children of the kingdom” (verse 38), living in a world full of evil until He comes again.
Let’s pray that he is King today, in the world and in our own hearts, and tomorrow when he returns!
Matt 13: 9 – 24-43
After teaching us to pray to our “Abba” confidently, Jesus is teaching us the Our Father as the pattern for all our prayer. He is showing us seven things to ask: the first three are all to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”), before we ask four things for ourselves. Last we reflected on the first (“may your name be kept holy”), this week we look at “May your kingdom come”.
Jesus’ Kingdom is wherever Jesus is King! The Catechism says the word Kingdom here can be understood as the “Reign” of Jesus (2816). So when we pray this prayer we are thinking of the future when Jesus will come again, and thinking of how he can reign more today, in the world, beginning with our own hearts:(2859) “By the second petition, the Church looks first to Christ's return and the final coming of the Reign of God. It also prays for the growth of the Kingdom of God in the ‘today’ of our own lives.”
In the parable from Matthew 13 Jesus uses a picture of wheat and weeds in the same field to tells us about the future Kingdom of Heaven where we will “shine like the sun”. He says the harvest is in the future (“at the end of the age” verse 40), but that we are already “the children of the kingdom” (verse 38), living in a world full of evil until He comes again.
Let’s pray that he is King today, in the world and in our own hearts, and tomorrow when he returns!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Our Father Reflection 3: “May your name be held Holy”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…
Isaiah 6 1 - 6
We are reflecting on the Our Father as the pattern Jesus gave us for all prayer. In the first word “Abba” he taught us to start all prayer with the relationship we have with our “Daddy”. He also teaches that our Father is “in heaven": “Heaven, the Father's house, is the true homeland toward which we are heading and to which, already, we belong.” (Catholic Catechism 2802)
Jesus will show us seven things to ask in the Our Father: the first three are all to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”), before we ask four things for ourselves. Again Jesus teaches us to start with our Father and who He is, before we think of ourselves.
The first thing he asks is that we pray “May your name be held holy”. “Hallowed” means “held holy” in the sense of being “recognised as holy”, “treated in a holy way”, “revered” or “worshipped”. The passage from Isaiah shows us God the Father being worshipped as Holy. All of Heaven always worships him in this way.
What does “Holy” mean? Jesus speaks of God as “Holy” whenever he is thinking of his Father’s goodness, completeness and perfection. The Father’s holiness is a mystery we can enter into in prayer, but never completely understand or describe: (Catholic Catechism 2809) “The holiness of God is the inaccessible centre of his eternal mystery. What is revealed of it in creation and history, Scripture calls ‘glory,’ the radiance of his majesty.”
So the first thing we ask is that God is revered and worshipped as Holy (by ourselves and others in the world). Let’s not get discouraged by our own sinfulness when we think about the perfection of God: When we think of someone we love, we enjoy thinking how perfect they are! You hate for them to be thought of badly, or for their name to be used badly.
Let’s pray that our Father’s name is “held Holy”!
Isaiah 6 1 - 6
We are reflecting on the Our Father as the pattern Jesus gave us for all prayer. In the first word “Abba” he taught us to start all prayer with the relationship we have with our “Daddy”. He also teaches that our Father is “in heaven": “Heaven, the Father's house, is the true homeland toward which we are heading and to which, already, we belong.” (Catholic Catechism 2802)
Jesus will show us seven things to ask in the Our Father: the first three are all to do with God (“hallowed be your name”, “your Kingdom come”, and “your will be done”), before we ask four things for ourselves. Again Jesus teaches us to start with our Father and who He is, before we think of ourselves.
The first thing he asks is that we pray “May your name be held holy”. “Hallowed” means “held holy” in the sense of being “recognised as holy”, “treated in a holy way”, “revered” or “worshipped”. The passage from Isaiah shows us God the Father being worshipped as Holy. All of Heaven always worships him in this way.
What does “Holy” mean? Jesus speaks of God as “Holy” whenever he is thinking of his Father’s goodness, completeness and perfection. The Father’s holiness is a mystery we can enter into in prayer, but never completely understand or describe: (Catholic Catechism 2809) “The holiness of God is the inaccessible centre of his eternal mystery. What is revealed of it in creation and history, Scripture calls ‘glory,’ the radiance of his majesty.”
So the first thing we ask is that God is revered and worshipped as Holy (by ourselves and others in the world). Let’s not get discouraged by our own sinfulness when we think about the perfection of God: When we think of someone we love, we enjoy thinking how perfect they are! You hate for them to be thought of badly, or for their name to be used badly.
Let’s pray that our Father’s name is “held Holy”!
Our Father Reflection 2: “Our Father - Abba (Daddy)”
Matthew 6 v 9: This is how you are to pray: “Our Father…”
Matthew 6 v 5-8
Jesus chose the word “Abba (Daddy)” as the first word of the Our Father. It translates “Our Father” in English but could be translated “Daddy”).
My son Emmanuel says “Daddy” when he asks for something, but also just to be with me – “Daddy, come with me”… “Daddy, look at this”. Jesus shows us this very intimate name of God as the first word that we should think and say in all our prayer – coming to be with him rather than just to ask for things.
In this passage from Matthew he tells us to “pray to our Father in secret” to a Father who “sees us” and knows what we need before we ask him – it is a picture of a loving Father who is waiting there to be close to us (not someone we have to impress!).
He showed his followers in his own life that prayer relating to his “Daddy” was the source of all his strength and the background to everything he did. There are many examples of His prayer to the Father all through the four gospels but especially in John: "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this…" (John 11:42)
He also taught us that we are included in his own relationship with his Father, and that there is no way we can know our Father without Jesus: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” (Matthew 11 v 27)
So let’s come to our “Daddy”, worship him and call him by name, just to be with him and meet him in the “secret place” where he will reward us with his love!
Matthew 6 v 5-8
Jesus chose the word “Abba (Daddy)” as the first word of the Our Father. It translates “Our Father” in English but could be translated “Daddy”).
My son Emmanuel says “Daddy” when he asks for something, but also just to be with me – “Daddy, come with me”… “Daddy, look at this”. Jesus shows us this very intimate name of God as the first word that we should think and say in all our prayer – coming to be with him rather than just to ask for things.
In this passage from Matthew he tells us to “pray to our Father in secret” to a Father who “sees us” and knows what we need before we ask him – it is a picture of a loving Father who is waiting there to be close to us (not someone we have to impress!).
He showed his followers in his own life that prayer relating to his “Daddy” was the source of all his strength and the background to everything he did. There are many examples of His prayer to the Father all through the four gospels but especially in John: "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this…" (John 11:42)
He also taught us that we are included in his own relationship with his Father, and that there is no way we can know our Father without Jesus: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” (Matthew 11 v 27)
So let’s come to our “Daddy”, worship him and call him by name, just to be with him and meet him in the “secret place” where he will reward us with his love!
Our Father Reflection 1: “Teach us to pray”
Luke 11 v 1-8
When the disciples ask the question “Teach us to pray” in verse 1, Jesus gives as his answer the Lord’s prayer (or Our Father) in verses 2-3, as the pattern for all Christian prayer. We will be reflecting on parts of this prayer in coming weeks, based on Matthew 6: 9-13, from which the Church takes the prayer that we say in Mass.
As a father I teach my son Emmanuel words so that we can communicate. In the same way Jesus gives us words from his Father in heaven, to help us communicate with him.
Catholic Catechism 2765: “…the prayer to our Father is taught and given to us by the Lord Jesus. … On the one hand, in the words of this prayer the only Son gives us the words the Father gave him... On the other, as Word incarnate, he knows in his human heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us: he is the model of our prayer.”
Jesus gives us the parable in verses 5 to 8, and the promises in verses 9 to 11 as encouragement to pray believing that the Father is longing to listen to us and answer us.
So let's be encouraged to pray!
When the disciples ask the question “Teach us to pray” in verse 1, Jesus gives as his answer the Lord’s prayer (or Our Father) in verses 2-3, as the pattern for all Christian prayer. We will be reflecting on parts of this prayer in coming weeks, based on Matthew 6: 9-13, from which the Church takes the prayer that we say in Mass.
As a father I teach my son Emmanuel words so that we can communicate. In the same way Jesus gives us words from his Father in heaven, to help us communicate with him.
Catholic Catechism 2765: “…the prayer to our Father is taught and given to us by the Lord Jesus. … On the one hand, in the words of this prayer the only Son gives us the words the Father gave him... On the other, as Word incarnate, he knows in his human heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us: he is the model of our prayer.”
Jesus gives us the parable in verses 5 to 8, and the promises in verses 9 to 11 as encouragement to pray believing that the Father is longing to listen to us and answer us.
So let's be encouraged to pray!
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