Meditation on the Our Father
Father
From his first word, Christ introduces me to a new dimension of the relationship with God. He is no longer just my "Dominator", my "Lord" or my "Master". He's my father. And I am not only a servant, but a son. I therefore turn to You, Father, with the respect due to the One who is also those things, but with the freedom, trust and intimacy of a son, aware of being loved, confident also in despair and in the midst of the slavery of the world and sin. He, the Father who calls me, pending my return, I the prodigal son who will return to Him repentant.
our
Because not only my Father or "mine" (my family, my friends, my social class, my people, ...), but Father of all: of the rich and the poor, of the saint and of the sinner, of the cultured and of the illiterate, that you all call tirelessly to You, to repentance, to Your love. "Ours", certainly, but not confusingly of all: God loves each and every one individually; He is everything to me when I am in trial and need, he is all mine when he calls me Self with repentance, vocation, consolation. The adjective does not express possession, but a totally new relationship with God; form to generosity, according to the teachings of Christ; it indicates God as common to more than one person: there is only one God and he is recognized Father by those who, through faith in His only begotten Son, are born again by Him through water and the Holy Spirit. The Church is this new communion of God and men (CCC, 2786, 2790).
that you are in Heaven
Extraordinarily other than me, yet not far away, indeed everywhere in the immensity of the universe and in the small of my daily life, Your admirable creation. This biblical expression does not mean a place, as space could be, but a way of being; not the distance from God, but his majesty and even if He is beyond everything, he is also very close to the humble and contrite heart (CCC, 2794).
hallowed be your name
That is, be respected and loved, by me and by the whole world, also through me, in my commitment to set a good example, to lead your name even to those who still do not really know it. By asking for your name to be sanctified, we enter into God's plan: the sanctification of His name, revealed to Moses and then to Jesus, by us and in us, as well as in every people and in every man (CCC, 2858).
When we say: "Hallowed be your name", we excite ourselves to desire that the name of him, who is always holy, be considered holy also among men, that is, he is not despised, something that does not benefit God but men (Sant'Agostino, Letter to Proba).
Come your kingdom
May Your Creation, Blessed Hope, be fulfilled in our hearts and in the world and our Savior Jesus Christ return! With the second question the Church looks mainly at the return of Christ and the final coming of the kingdom of God, but also prays for the growth of the kingdom of God in the "today" of our lives (CCC, 2859).
When we say: "Thy kingdom come", which, whether we want to or not, will certainly come, we excite our desire towards that kingdom, so that it may come for us and we deserve to reign in it (St. Augustine, ibid.).
your will be done
That is the will of Salvation, even in our misunderstanding of Your ways. Help us to accept Your will, fill us with trust in You, give us the hope and consolation of Your love and join our will to that of Your Son, so that your plan of salvation in the life of the world may be fulfilled. We are radically incapable of this, but, united with Jesus and with the power of His Holy Spirit, we can hand over our will to him and decide to choose what his son has always chosen: to do what the Father likes (CCC, 2860).
as in heaven, so on earth
Because the world, also through us, Your unworthy instruments, is shaped in imitation of Paradise, where Your will is always done, which is true Peace, infinite Love and eternal Bliss in Your face (CCC, 2825-2826).
When we say: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", we ask him to obey him, to fulfill his will, in the way that is fulfilled by his angels in heaven. (St. Augustine, ibid.).
give us today our daily bread
Our bread and that of all the brothers, overcoming our sectarianism and our selfishness. Give us the real necessary, earthly nourishment for our sustenance, and free us from unnecessary desires. Above all give us the Bread of life, the Word of God and the Body of Christ, an eternal table prepared for us and for many since the beginning of time (CCC, 2861).
When we say: "Give us our daily bread today", with the word today we mean "in the present time", in which we either ask for all the things we need, indicating them all with the term "bread" which is the most important thing among them, or let us ask for the sacrament of the faithful that is necessary in this life to achieve happiness not already in this world, but in eternal happiness. (St. Augustine, ibid.).
forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
I implore Your mercy, aware that it cannot reach my heart if I am not able to forgive my enemies too, following the example and with the help of Christ. So if you present your offer at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother and then return to offer yours. gift (Mt 5,23:2862) (CCC, XNUMX).
When we say: "Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors", we call to our attention that we must ask and do to deserve to receive this grace (St. Augustine, ibid.).
and lead us not into temptation
Do not abandon us at the mercy of the road that leads to sin, along which, without you, we would be lost. Extend your hand and take hold of it (cf Mt 14,24-32), send us the Spirit of discernment and fortitude and the grace of vigilance and final perseverance (CCC, 2863).
When we say: "Do not lead us into temptation", we are excited to ask that, abandoned by his help, we are not deceived and we do not consent to any temptation nor do we yield to you collapsed in pain (St. Augustine, ibid.).
but free us from evil
Together with the whole Church I ask you to manifest the victory, already achieved by Christ, over the "prince of this world" who personally opposes you and your plan of salvation, so that you can free us from whom all your creation and all Your creatures hate you and everyone would like to see you lost, deceiving our eyes with poisonous delights, until forever the prince of this world is thrown out (Jn 12,31:2864) (CCC, XNUMX).
When we say: "Deliver us from evil", we remember to reflect that we are not yet in possession of the good in which we will not suffer any evil. These last words of the Lord's prayer have such a wide meaning that a Christian, in whatever tribulation he finds himself, in pronouncing them he moans, sheds tears, from here he begins, here he pauses, here his prayer ends (St. Augustine, ibid. ).
Amen.
So be it, according to Your will