Reflect, today, on the Our Father, the prayer taught by Jesus

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he was finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11: 1

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. In response, he taught them the "Our Father" prayer. There is much to be said about this prayer. This prayer contains everything we need to know about prayer. It is a catechetical lesson on prayer itself and contains seven petitions to the Father.

Hallowed be your name: "Hallowed" means to be holy. While we pray this part of the prayer we are not praying that God's name will become holy, for his name is already holy. Rather, we pray that this holiness of God be recognized by us and by all people. We pray that there will be a deep reverence for God's name and that we will always treat God with the proper honor, devotion, love, and fear to which we are called.

It is especially important to emphasize how often God's name is used in vain. This is a strange phenomenon. Have you ever wondered why, when people get angry, they curse God's name? It's strange. And, indeed, it is demonic. Anger, in those moments, invites us to act contrary to this prayer and the correct use of God's name.

God himself is holy, holy, holy. He is thrice holy! In other words, it is the holiest! Living with this fundamental disposition of the heart is the key to a good Christian life and a good life of prayer.

Perhaps a good practice would be to regularly honor God's name. For example, what a wonderful habit it would be to regularly say, "Sweet and precious Jesus, I love you." Or, "God glorious and merciful, I adore you." Adding adjectives like these before mentioning God is a good habit to get into as a way to fulfill this first petition of the Lord's Prayer.

Another good practice would be to always refer to the "Blood of Christ" that we consume at Mass as the "Precious Blood". Or the Host as the "Sacred Host". There are many who fall into the trap of simply calling it "wine" or "bread". This is most likely not harmful or even sinful, but it is much better to get into the practice and habit of honoring and revering whatever is associated with God, especially the Most Holy Eucharist!

Thy Kingdom Come: This petition of the Lord's Prayer is a way to recognize two things. First, we recognize the fact that Jesus will one day return in all His glory and establish His permanent and visible Kingdom. This will be the time of the Final Judgment, when the present Heaven and Earth will disappear and the new order will be established. Therefore, praying this petition is a faith-filled acknowledgment of this fact. It is our way of saying that we not only believe this will happen, but we also look forward to it and pray for it.

Second, we need to realize that the Kingdom of God is already here among us. For now it is an invisible realm. It is a spiritual reality that must become a global reality present in our world.

Praying for the "Kingdom of God to come" means that we wish He would first take more possession of our souls. The Kingdom of God must be within us. He must reign on the throne of our hearts and we must allow him to. Therefore, this must be our constant prayer.

We also pray that God's Kingdom will become present in our world. God wants to transform the social, political and cultural order at this time. So we have to pray and work for it. Our prayer for the Kingdom to come is also a way for us to engage with God to allow him to use us for this very purpose. It is a prayer of faith and courage. Faith because we believe He can use us, and courage because the evil one and the world will not like it. As God's Kingdom is established in this world through us, we will encounter opposition. But that's okay and should be expected. And this petition is, in part, to help us in this mission.

Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven: praying for the Kingdom of God to come also means that we try to live the will of the Father. This is done when we enter into union with Christ Jesus. He fulfilled His Father's will with perfection. His human life is the perfect model of God's will and is also the means by which we live God's will.

This petition is a way to commit ourselves to living in union with Christ Jesus. We take our will and entrust it to Christ so that his will may live in us.

In this way we begin to be filled with every virtue. We will also be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are necessary to live the will of the Father. For example, the gift of knowledge is a gift by which we come to know what God wants from us in particular situations in life. So praying this petition is a way to ask God to fill us with knowledge of His will. But we also need the courage and strength needed to then live that will. So this petition also prays for those gifts of the Holy Spirit that allow us to live what God reveals as His divine plan for our lives.

Obviously it is also an intercession for all people. In this petition, we pray that all come to live in unity and harmony with God's perfect plan.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Come your kingdom. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive our faults, as we forgive those who transgress against us and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Jesus I believe in you.