The Lord’s prayer: “Our Father"The Lord’s prayer: “Our Father"

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GRECO, ElThe Agony in the Garden

c. 1590Oil on canvas, 104 x 117 cm

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio

Compendium of the Catechism

578. What is the origin of the Our Father?

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Jesus taught us this Christian prayer for which there is no substitute, the Our Father, on the day on which one of his disciples saw him praying and asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). The Church’s liturgical tradition has always used the text of Saint Matthew (6:9-13).

Introduction

One day, after Jesus had finished praying to his heavenly Father, one of his disciples said: " Lord, teach us to pray, as

John taught his disciples " (Luke 11:1)

It was then that he taught them the Our Father (Cf. Matthew 6:9-13).

The Our Father should be our favourite prayer because God himself taught it to us.

BELLINI, GiovanniAgony in the Garden (detail)

c. 1459Tempera on wood

National Gallery, London

Main ideasMain ideas

1. The Our Father the most important prayer

The most important prayer of Christians is the Our Father, the prayer the apostles learned from Jesus’ lips. Tertullian said that “the Lord’s prayer is truly the summary of the whole Gospel”.

No doubt it is the most perfect, it being the prayer par excellence of the Church.

GOODALL, Frederick (1822-1904)Already He knew God As His FatherOil on canvas134.6 x 91.4 cmPrivate collection

2. Jesus Christ taught us the Our Father

Jesus Christ taught us the words with which we have to address our heavenly Father. The Our Father is the prayer most pleasing to God.

We should recite it with attention and devotion, conscious of what we say, so that our heart identifies with the words we pronounce. Doing so will help us to know the meaning of the words.

RODRIGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELASQUEZ, DiegoSupper at Emmaus

1620Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York, USA

3. The contents of the Our Father

The Our Father includes an initial invocation and seven petitions : Initial invocation: Our Father who

art in heaven. 1st petition: Hallowed be thy

name. 2nd petition: Thy kingdom come. 3rd petition: Thy will be done on

earth, as it is in heaven. 4th petition: Give us this day our

daily bread. 5th petition: Forgive us our

trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

6th petition: Lead us not into temptation.

7th petition: Deliver us from evil .

To confirm our petitions we add Amen.

WEST COPE, CharlesFlorence Cope Saying Grace at DinnertimePrivate Collection

4. To pray the Our Father with devotion

Since the Our Father is so beautiful and so pleasing to God, logically we should try to say it with special attention.

We cannot recite it like a machine pronouncing the words with our lips while our mind and heart are elsewhere; we have to recite it with attention and devotion.

WOOD, ChristopherBreton Woman at Prayer

Southampton City Art GalleryHampshire, UK

Resolutions for Christian lifeResolutions for Christian life

Resolutions to move forward

Review – get to know very well – the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Pray with attention and devotion all vocal prayers, especially the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Meditate once in a while the Our Father and the Hail Mary to better understand what we pray.