Daily Reflection Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

I was astounded to hear that last week on Jeopardy, none of the four contestants was able to tell the host what word followed “Our Father who art in heaven…” My guess would have been that even the most secular people would have known it was “hallowed” even if they couldn’t ascribe to the prayer’s content. Wrong again!

For Christians, the Lord’s Prayer is fundamental because we can draw from it several key principles for our own spiritual life. Firstly, Jesus invites us to approach God with authenticity and simplicity, avoiding religious pretense. Secondly, our every prayer should reflect a deep desire to align ourselves with God’s desires and seek to follow God’s kingdom. The Lord’s Prayer also teaches us to trust in God’s care for us, to seek forgiveness and extend it to others, and acknowledge God’s ultimate power and authority.

This is the prayer that Jesus gave us. It urges us to cultivate a genuine and intimate relationship with God, allowing it to shape our attitudes, values, and actions. By following Jesus’ teachings on prayer, we experience a deeper connection with God and align ourselves with God’s dreams and desires, bringing about transformation in our own lives and in the world around us.

Reflecting on all this, I realize that I must stop reciting the prayer without hardly thinking about it, but I need to take the time to savor every word and ask the Lord to give me an ever-deeper love for it.