When assigned today’s reading by Luke, I thought – simple enough, I have said the Our Father how many times in my life? Thousands, more likely tens of thousands of times since first learning it as a child. So many times that I, and maybe you, almost take the words for granted due to what may seem like a ritualistic repeating of the same prayer. Well, today’s reflection turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to examine the prayer that Jesus taught us, reflect on its meaning, and maybe better appreciate it and apply it to our spiritual and corporal lives into the future. As Jesus told his disciples, “When you pray, say:”

Father - First, to call God “Father” tees up the remaining words in the prayer. If God is our Father, then we are certainly his children. And as such, we are not only comforted by His embrace, but rely on our Him for guidance, support, and love.

Hallowed be your name - Common definitions of “hallowed” include made holy, consecrated, and greatly revered and honored. When we say “hallowed be your name” we are demonstrating our deep respect and belief that God is above all others not only in name, but in person.

Your Kingdom come– One of my favorite lines in the prayer. We know Matthew adds “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” As such, I see this as a rather bold ask of God that He should make our human existence much like that in heaven. And, according to my readings of the teachings of Jesus, I interpret this as man’s (and woman’s) wellbeing on earth – to create a better life for all of us – not just monetarily, but more so spiritually and practically through assuring everyone has food, housing, safety, peace, the opportunity to develop intellectually and spiritually, and treating all humans with dignity and respect. But as we ask for this, we must also understand that God has given us all we need to make this happen. It is often the choices that we, society, and our governments make that do not allow for this to come to fruition. So, as we ask for this, let us also understand the gifts God has given us and the agency we possess to make it happen.

Give us this day our daily bread – We ask God to help us meet our daily needs for food. I believe it is important for us to be thankful that He provides for us and to be empathic towards those who struggle to meet this need and to do what we can to assist God in these efforts.

Forgive us our sings for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us – Any amount of reflection allows us to understand that we all sin through actions of commission or omission. And this line is a recognition that we need God’s forgiveness. But we must also forgive others as well since forgiving others frees us from bitterness and allows us to live a life full of God’s blessings.

And do not subject us to the final test– This is interesting since I do not believe God ever tempts us. We are really asking for God to give us strength to avoid situations were temptations lie and/or to give us strength in those situations where we are tempted to act against His will.

I hope that the next time we cite the Lord’s Prayer Mass or as part of our own daily prayers, that we remind ourselves that this was the prayer that Jesus taught us when his disciples asked him to “teach us to pray.” When said, possibly use my thought above as a catalyst to promote your own meaningful interpretation of this prayer to get closer to God and to fulfill our desire to have His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!