S&F-Prayer of the Week: The Our Father

 

I'm going to start spending my Wednesday posts focusing on a particular prayer and what it means to me.  There is no better prayer to start with than the prayer that when asked in Luke 11 to teach them to pray Jesus told them.

The Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass

against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen

There is so much in this prayer.  In its simplicity it contains all we need to do to be close to God.  It seems like every time I reflect on it I see something I didn't before.

Today I am focusing on the line asking for God's forgiveness, while we will try to forgive those who have wronged us.  

Even the best of us on Earth are sinners.   St. Mother Theresa and Pope St. John Paul II realized they needed to ask for God's forgiveness often.  Dare I say none of us are as Holy as them.  We all have wronged God and need his grace.

But we also need to realize that part of getting God's grace is to give others grace.  Sometimes we need to turn the other cheek to whose who wrong us.  We have been asked by Jesus to love our neighbor as yourself.  And you can't have love without forgiveness.

I know I struggle daily living these statements.  But by accepting my faults and receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation I will try to receive his grace for my shortcomings and by giving my life to Jesus's will he will help me pass that grace onto others.