LORD'S PRAYER

LIKE A JEWEL BOX

THE LORD'S Prayer is like a jewel-box in which the Lord himself has placed the things that matter. Before a person places his particular needs before God, he must situate himself in the community of faith. Then and there, God searches his heart for a sign of humility; he tests his soul for its desire to be cleansed of sin. The Church intercedes for him sacramentally, ennobling his humanity and raising him to the Father in the name of Christ her divine groom....In need of daily bread, the living Church prays at the door of heaven, that is, by means of the Seven Great Graces.  [par. 3] 

"Heaven's Door"    (Ordinary Time Week 17 - Year C)

"Our Father Who Art in Heaven"

WHEN WE pray "our Father who art in heaven", we acknowledge our spiritual adoption by Love itself, infinite in being and perfect in holiness. We are in awe of God's breath-taking splendor, his majestic might, his limitless compassion, his measureless mercy and pardon.  [par. 9] 

"Ascension"   (Easter Season Ascension - Year C)

"Hallowed Be Thy Name"

MAN'S GLORIFICATION of Gods name adds nothing to his majesty, nor does man's profanation of the divine name have the power to detract from God's unsurpassed excellence. Both glorification and profanation, however, redound to the condition and fate of man. The former conveys the perfection of his goodness in God, the latter renders worthless his own name and condemns him.  [par. 11]

"Hallowed Be Thy Name"   (Christmas Season-Baptism of Lord - Year B)

"Thy Kingdom Come"

THY KINGDOM come is the Church's prayer for unity and peace that only Christ can give, a plea to the Lord of Glory to vanquish all indifference and opposition to the Father's Kingdom. And so the Church lives in the in-between time of God's Kingdom--yet not behind locked doors!--mindful of its birth on the cross and its betrothal to Christ as the heavenly Jerusalem.  [Par. 17]

"Thy Kingdom Come"     (Easter Season Week 2 - Year A)

"Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven"

A HOLY name is conferred upon the person who takes up his cross to follow Christ. He is called Christian. A Christian is to be holy, perfect and undefiled, as the heavenly Father is holy. Merely following the Lord cannot guarantee salvation in his name. As well, chanting Lord, Lord will never substitute for doing the will of Christ.  [Par. 5]

"On Earth, In Heaven"     (Ordinary Time Week 29 - Year A)

 BEHOLD! THE last word does not belong to the Word of the World. The last word is the first word spoken by God's own voice. "Thy will be done!" is a stirring proclamation of the inevitability of God's redemptive love, the completion of our salvation and the transformation of every created thing. To pray "Thy will be done" is the profound realization of men and women everywhere that God's will will be done. [paras. 8,10,11]

"Thy Will Be Done"     (Nativity of the Lord - Year C)

 "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread"

THOUGH THE recognition of ones own hunger and thirst is indispensable for conversion, it is no great feat in the economy of salvation. To humbly whisper give for what one truly needs while lavishly giving thanks is most assuredly significant. The eucharistic assembly is a thanks-giving community or else it is no community at all. [par. 4]  

"This Day, Each Day"     (Ordinary Time Week 21 - Year B)

"And Forgive Us Our Trespasses"

WHEN MAN trespasses, he enters a realm of darkness in which he cannot survive. Christians know the valley of the shadow of death as the condition of sin and its dread consequences which debase both the righteous and transgressors alike. Man's every attempt to appease the principalities and powers of this present darkness degrades him profoundly and enthralls him to the powers of death.  [Par. 6]    

"Forgive Us Our Trespasses"      (Advent Season Week 3 - Year B) 

"As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us"

THE GREATEST need of all human beings is to be released from the sins that throttle their humanity. It is not ideas or concepts that need forgiveness but flesh and blood. For one man sins against another even as he is sinned against. Our Saviour offers us this welcome invitation, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  [par. 9]   

"Ours for the Doing"     (Advent Season Week 4 - Year C)

"And Lead Us Not into Temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil"

MAN'S SURVIVAL does not depend on the fitness of his human powers--running faster, playing harder, eating more. To the contrary his continuity in time and space depends wholly upon honest self-reflection and prudent action that corresponds to his best interests--loving and obeying God through selfless service.  [par. 7]

"Means of Escape"     (Ordinary Time Week 16 - Year B)

"For the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are Yours, Now and Forever"

TO SPEAK in praise of God is to exalt his power and glory. Sacred Scripture evidences that, in the mind of the ancient Hebrews, word and reality were indissolubly united. To utter the name of God was to invoke the power of Almighty God himself. Thus the Church holds that a doxology for the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and foreveris what it does. Integral to the believer's proclamation of praise is the invocation of trust:  May God-everlasting be God-now and God-throughout my life!  [par. 17]

"Invocation of Trust"     (Ordinary Time Week 26 - Year B)