"In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words" - Matthew 6:7
Every time we attend Mass, we recite a prayer from memory that we learned in early childhood. And maybe, because we learned to say it at such a young age, we have not really given it much thought. Well, that was certainly true for me. Many years ago, I was taking a Bible study course by Bishop Barron and as he often does, he made this little side note regarding Jesus' prayer, the Our Father. He said, "When Jesus said to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray, to not babble like the pagans, what He probably meant was the pagans thought they had to persuade the gods as if they were big city bosses...". Which totally cracked me up. But then he went on to explain just how perfect this prayer is and how it starts by entering into intimacy by calling God our Father, and because we recognize that He knows better, we accept His will for our lives, in big and small things. We allow Him to lead us where He needs us to be. He made a comment that we should check out the Catechism to learn more. And so, I did. This prayer means so much more to me now because of that encounter.
Maybe it has been a while since you thought about the Our Father. I invite you to take a look at our Catechism, beginning at 2777. It just might become your favorite prayer as well.
Father, teach us to pray that Your will be done in all aspects of our lives. Amen
Reflection by:
Char Lerch...
Char Lerch, Lay Pastoral Minister and Volunteer at Nativity Catholic Church in Brandon
