Which part of The Lord’s Prayer has a personal significance for you? - Daily Reflections June 16,2016

THE GREAT VALUE OF THE LORD’S PRAYER   One of the observations on the new English edition of the Roman Missal, which came out some years ago, is regarding the introduction to The Lord’s Prayer. What used to be several options have been reduced to only one, which is for us the best of those former choices. It goes by a literal translation of the original Latin: “At the Savior’s command, and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say...”        It’s true. In front of the greatest Christian prayer of all, we actually have three distinct things: 1) a command of Jesus Himself; 2) a model instructing us what and how to pray to God the Father; and 3) a bold, daring act on our part. The reasons for these are as follows:        1. There is a certain importance and urgency to the matter, such that Jesus commands us to pray. We cannot take lightly the whole business of prayer, nor can we just drag our feet.      2. In our possible weakness and confusion, Jesus comes to our assistance by providing us with a template, an example or model for our prayer. It is not only a sample of what we can pray for (the content), but more importantly a pattern of how we are to pray (the underlying attitudes and outlooks).        3. Come to think of it, we really do not have the right to face up to God and talk to Him head on. And so, in an attitude of humility and at the same time fortitude (a certain cheekiness or pluckiness), we marshall our guts and approach the Lord — yes, even in our weaknesses and needs.       Such then is the great value of the “Our Father.” May we ever treasure it, use it, and allow it to guide us in life. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTION: Which part of The Lord’s Prayer has a personal significance for you?   Thank You for teaching us what to pray for and how to pray, dearest Jesus. Amen.