«OUR FATHER»
Everything has been said about the Our Father. It’s the prayer above all others. The best gift that Jesus has left us. The most sublime invocation to God. And yet, repeated over and over by Christians, it can become a routine prayer, words that are repeated mechanically without raising the heart to God.
That’s why it’s good to stop from time to time to reflect about this prayer in which Jesus’ whole life is enclosed. Soon we will realize that we can only pray it if we are alive with his Spirit.
«Our Father». It’s the first cry that comes out of the human heart when we live inhabited not by the fear of God, but by a full trust in God’s creating love. A cry in the plural to that which is the Father of all. An invocation that roots us in universal fraternity and makes us responsible before all others.
«Hallowed be your Name». This first petition isn’t just one more of many. It’s the soul of this whole prayer of Jesus, his supreme aspiration. That the «name» of God, that is, God’s inexpressible mystery, God’s love and saving power be manifested in all it’s glory and power. And it’s said not in a passive attitude, but from the commitment to collaborate in our own life with that aspiration of Jesus.
«Your kingdom come». That the violence and destructive hate not reign in the world. That God and God’s justice reign. That the First World not reign over the Third, Europeans over Africans, the powerful over the weak. That the male not dominate the female, nor the rich dominate the poor. That truth take over the world. That paths to peace, forgiveness and true liberation get opened.
«Your will be done». That this will not find so much obstacle and resistance in us. That all humanity obey God’s call, that from the depths of our life each human being is invited to her true salvation. That my life be actually today the search for that will of God.
«Give us today our daily bread». The bread and what we need in order to live in a dignified way, not just ourselves, but all men and women of the Earth. And this is said not from hoarding selfishness or irresponsible consumerism, but from the will to share ourselves more with those in need.
«Forgive us». The world needs God’s forgiveness. We human beings can only live by begging forgiveness and by forgiving. Whoever renounces vengeance from an attitude open to forgiveness, is like God, the good and forgiving Father.
«Lead us not into temptation». This isn’t about the small temptations of every day, but the great temptation of abandoning God, forgetting Jesus’ Gospel, and following a wrong path. This cry for help keeps resounding in our life. God is with us in the face of every evil.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
