Many of us may remember learning our prayers as a child. My late husband, Joe, shared the story of his older brother teaching him the Our Father. Tom, who was ten years older, told his little brother that if he would learn the Our Father, then Tom would teach Joe how to get out of his crib. Tom introduced the Our Father to Joe and then kept his part of the agreement, much to their parents’ surprise!

The Our Father gives us all that we need to know about prayer; maybe that’s why it is one of the first prayers we learn as Catholics. In Luke’s Gospel today, we are given the first three of seven petitions in this prayer.

“Hallowed” means to be holy. As we pray, “Hallowed be Thy name,” we are praying that all of us will recognize God’s holiness. Our prayer is for a deep reverence of God’s name and that we honor God with devotion and love as his followers.

“Thy kingdom come” acknowledges two components of God’s Kingdom. We believe that one day, Jesus will return in all glory and establish His permanent and visible Kingdom. Secondly, we realize that the Kingdom of God is here and now as a spiritual reality that we are called to be aware of in our world. It is within each of us.

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” we are asking for guidance to live as Jesus taught us as his disciples and committing ourselves to living the will of God. We are entrusting our will to Christ. By doing so, we will be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Our Father, it is the perfect prayer to pray together as we celebrate Eucharist!

Prayer:

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.