The Lord's Prayer

It has become somewhat of a norm to begin or end a meeting or gathering with the Lord’s Prayer.  I often wonder whether that’s because it’s a common ritual prayer or because it’s at the core of who we are as a people of faith.  Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between.  Because the Lord’s prayer is so familiar, we can speak the words without really paying attention to what they say or considering what they mean.

 If I say this prayer slowly and contemplatively, I can understand why it is placed at the beginning of the Communion Rite.  The prayer teaches me that God desires an intimacy with me that enables me to call God “Father.”  Because the prayer is plural throughout, it teaches me that my life is interdependent with the community of believers, that my words and actions have an effect on others and can affect the Kingdom. Ultimately, the prayer teaches me that true peace can only happen when I forgive, when I surrender my needs to God’s will, and when I honestly believe that the “daily bread” I seek will be more than enough.

The Lord’s Prayer was given to us by Jesus through the gospels of both Matthew (6:9-13), and  Luke (11:2-4).   It was used in both private prayer and in liturgical worship from the earliest centuries.  One of the Fathers of the Church found the teachings in the Lord’s Prayer so rich he called it “The summary of the whole gospel.”  Perhaps that is why the RCIA makes a point of handing on the Lord’s Prayer to the Elect (the unbaptized) in a special ritual that typically takes place during the fifth week of Lent.   May the Elect and all of us learn to pray the Lord’s Prayer not only by heart but with heart.

O Lord, may The Lord’s Prayer never become a routine formula, but rather a formula for living.  AMEN.