Our Father Who Art In Heaven
One
Luke 11:1, Jesus was praying at a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord teach us to pray…
In response to this request Jesus taught the Apostles the fundamental Christian prayer: The Our Father
In his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict explains that the words of the Our Father are much more than just a formula for a prayer. Each line and each word give an insight to the interior attitude of Jesus and His relationship with the Father.
If we want to understand Jesus and become like him then we need to understand and live the interior dispositions that are revealed in each of the 8 lines of the Our Father
The Our Father aims to form our being, and to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus (cf. Phil 2:5)
Let us pay more close attention as we pray the Lord’s prayer now…
Two
The Jewish leaders condemned Jesus to death for one reason: He dared to call God his Father. Why put him to death for this? Because it makes him divine by relation. If his Father is God, then the Son is God and that was blasphemy. Then how in the world do we dare to call God our Father? Because we have been made divine by relation.
Romans 8:14
Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, 'Abba, Father!' The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.
At our conception we became creatures – but not sons or daughters of God because our parents had no power to give us a share in the divine life by procreation. It is by Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit we have become children of God the Father
· 1 John 3: 1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
· Now we can truly say, “Our Father”
Our fundamental identity in founded not upon what we do, not what we have accomplished, not in our family or children, no. Our identity is grounded in the reality that by Baptism we now share in God’s divine life as His sons and daughters.
Is this the first and fundamental way you see yourself – as a son or daughter of God?
Three
Through Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit God is truly our Father. We know this. But we don’t live like it is true. We live like orphans who have to fend for themselves in a vicious dog eat dog world.
We live in fear, anxiety, worry, frustration and fear because we have forgotten that God is our Father.
CCC 2778, defines the Attitude of a Son/daughter of God that we should cultivate:
· Straightforward simplicity w/God
· Unshakeable trust in God’s Providential care
· Joy filled Confidence that God will make all things well
· Humble boldness
· The certainty of being loved
Once we begin to think and operate in the reality that God is my Father, He is working all things for good, then I know I am safe and I can relax, I can be calm and at peace. I don’t have to live in fear, worry or frustration. I don’t have to live in anger.
God my Father has my back. This enables me to calmly face anything and respond appropriately. This is the freedom of the children of God.
Four
The CCC (2794) tells us This biblical expression does not mean a place (space), but a way of being; it does not mean that God is distant, but it refers to His majesty and His presence in the hearts of the Just.
God is Our Father is Almighty. He created everything, rules everything and can do everything. Nothing is impossible with God. Furthermore, He works all things for good for those who love him.
We live in fear because we forget that we are not at the mercy of random chaotic forces, evil selfish people or even the devil and demons. Our lives are in the hands of God our Father and Mary our Mother. Within everything and above everything there is a person, God, who is our Father who is guiding all things for our greatest good.
God is Present in our heart
Augustine “Our Father who art in heaven” is rightly understood to mean that God is in the hearts of the just, as in his holy temple.
Jesus said to St Faustina,
My Kingdom on earth is My Life in the human soul
Diary 1784
Pope Benedict
· This is what prayer really is
· Being in silent inward communion with God
· This silent presence of God at the heart of our thinking, our meditating and our being is what we mean by prayer without ceasing
Five
After the first line the Our Father is comprised of Seven
Petitions beginning with Hallowed be Thy Name
What do we mean when we pray “Hallowed be thy Name?”
“Oh, God I pray your name becomes Holy.” That doesn’t sound right
· God cannot become more Holy
· His name cannot become more Holy
· But those of us who bear His Name “Christian” can certainly become more holy
With this petition we are asking God to make us Holy – to make us a saint.
We honor God’s name when we become holy
· When we reach our full potential
· When we become fully alive
· For the Glory of God is man fully alive
We profane his Name
· when we squander our potential
· and live a life of mediocrity and sin
CCC 2814, St Peter Chrysologus writes:
But we ask that this name of God should be hallowed in us through our actions. For God’s name is blessed when we live well, but it is blasphemed when we live wickedly…We ask then that just as the name of God is holy, so we may obtain his holiness in our souls
The First petition starts with the Goal of Life: To become Holy, a Saint and a great saint.
Is this the goal of your life?