A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 6:7-15
(Glory to you O Lord!)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
The Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!)
Reflection: The most personal kind of prayer
Today, we have the privilege to reflect on and pray the most personal prayer from our Lord Jesus. Jesus teaches us how to have a personal dialogue with our Heavenly Father. And why does He teach us this way to pray as some us may ask? It is because Jesus wants us to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father and to know that we are so loved by God! Our God is always listening, watching over us and He knows what we are going through!
The creator of the Universe created us so that we can share in the beautiful wonders He created all around us, so that we can receive His love as God is always present, and He journeys with us, giving us every opportunity to relate and converse with Him!
The template of prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches us allows us to also pray in a very personal way, as this Gospel reading reminds us not to babble like the ones who do not understand yet who God is, as He introduces to everyone that we have a loving and compassionate God! Let’s break down the portions of the prayer to our Father, as we pray:
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
This portion is where we need to humbly recognize that we owe our existence to God, where we acknowledge the presence of our Heavenly Father within us, and through us! We would not exist without His care and love! Our creator knew of us even before we were formed in our mother’s womb. He allows the existence of every fiber and molecule of our being, and He allows us to be one of His creations! Why, some us may ask? Because… God wants to share His love to us by allowing us to thrive within the beauty of all the Universe, within all of His creation, which are “all a part” of His Heavenly Kingdom in Heaven, on earth, and the universe itself.
We will be nothing without the spoken will of God, and all praise and honor we give to Him, to His most holy name, as we must humbly trust in His most holy will, as He always knows what is best for us – including matters that we do not “yet” understand, as we discern daily how best to serve Him through one another here on earth and wherever we go. And we have a loving God who allows us to have free will, as He allows us to choose and make decisions. May we always choose what is holy for sharing love with our choices!
“Give us this day our daily bread; ”, this is the portion where we learn to lift up our petitions and needs, especially for the daily food, sustenance and shelter that will allow everyone to survive. As well as the needs for healing and all our needs!
“and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Our Lord Jesus teaches us to ask forgiveness from God, and from one another for all of our shortcomings, whether intentional or accidental. Jesus is helping us realize that we have a merciful and forgiving Father! A loving Father who is always ready to forgive and accept us back with open arms, just like the Father in the story of the “Prodigal son”, ready to run to us, embrace us with His love and His comforting presence.
All we have to do is to ask for His help to recognize our shortcomings, ask for forgiveness from God and from one another, ask for an increase of our faith and to be granted the wisdom to learn how to choose what is holy, to have a heart of mercy so that we can begin to truly forgive and love one another. Trust that God is always with us, journeying with us always. God is always ready to help us. He knows us and He hears us, He journeys with us always through His spirit of great love … He is always there to help prompt and guide us to choose what is holy and what is of His love.
Action for the Day:
Make time for silent prayer with God for 15 to 20 minutes. Pray in an extemporaneous way. Begin by recognizing the holy presence of God all around us, and in all things. Thank God for all the blessings we have received, then have a candid conversation with our Father. Share our joys, our pains, our heart aches, our dreams, and lift up our petitions to our Heavenly Father as we ask for His will to be done. Remember that our loving God is always with us.
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