WEEKLY REFLECTION (My comments in parentheses) THE LORD’S PRAYER Our Father (Not “my Father” but “our” father. We all are children of God and it does not matter whether or not some people believe and others don’t. God, the loving Father does not exclude anyone.) Who art in Heaven (Where is Heaven? To me, Heaven is where God is: That special place where spirits enjoy the eternal life in His presence, but also, there is a “sample” of Heaven on Earth when we walk with Him, enjoy His creation and care for it. When we do good to others, we bring Heaven to Earth. When we do evil, we bring Hell to Earth.) Hallowed be thy Name (The name of God is sacred and must be used with great reverence and respect. Let’s be very carefully when using the name God. In accordance with the Scriptures, He is zealous for His Name. Thy Kingdom come (Interesting words. After death, we hope to enter God’s Kingdom to enjoy His Glory forever and ever. However, there is another dimension in this prayer. We ask for God’s Kingdom to come to us, and I think this means that His Love, Peace and Joy may descend upon all of us to make this world a better place for everyone.) Thy Will be done (Unfortunately, many people would like to change these words for “my will be done” but it does not work. So, when God’s Will is not their will, they feel hurt, abandoned, and like the prodigal son: leave the Father and go somewhere else. It would be better to fight the temptation to leave and to stay with the Father because in the long run, His Will usually is best for us simply because we use human standards to determine what is good for us while God uses His Divine standards to provide what is really good for us.) On Earth as it is in Heaven (God has no boundaries or limitations; therefore His Will prevails in Heaven and on Earth.) Give us our daily bread (Both the food to nourish our bodies and the spiritual bread we need for our spiritual journey. Jesus was always making sure that the crowds that followed Him to listen to His words were given something to eat to nourish their bodies while He nourished their souls with His words. For Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Orthodox—forgive me if I am missing any Christian church—Christ is present with His glorified body in the consecrated bread in the Eucharist. This is not symbolic. It’s real presence. He nourishes us every day not only with His words, but with His body and blood. The bread of life and the chalice of eternal salvation.) Forgive our trespasses (We are all sinners and the spirit is strong but the flesh is weak; therefore, whenever we break away from God by doing sinful things, we need to ask for His forgiveness and—if our repentance is sincere—He will not only forgive but erase our faults, and there will be great joy in Heaven. It’s our reconciliation with God, but also is the reconciliation with our brothers and sisters if our sins have hurt them in any way.) As we forgive those who trespass against us (We will not be forgiven if we refuse to forgive those who did wrong to us; therefore, we are forgiven if we sincerely forgive. It’s the reconciliation with our brothers and sisters.) And lead us not into temptation (It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation." "God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one"; on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.) But deliver us from evil (Inside every human soul is a continuous battle between good and evil, and the only way to resist the forces of evil and to win the final battle is for God to be with us, and He will if we ask Him to help us.) For more insights into The Lord’s Prayer, you may want to visit this site: vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s2a3.htm
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 12:48:46 +0000
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