20220308 THE LORD’S PRAYER AS THE PERFECT RESPONSE TO THE WORD OF GOD
08 March, 2022, Tuesday, 1st Week of Lent
First reading | Isaiah 55:10-11 © |
The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me empty
Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):4-7,16-19 © |
The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.
The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
The Lord turns his face against the wicked
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The Lord turns his eyes to the just
and his ears to their appeal.
The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
They call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel | Matthew 6:7-15 © |
How to pray
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test,
but save us from the evil one.
‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’
THE LORD’S PRAYER AS THE PERFECT RESPONSE TO THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 55:10-11; PS 34: 4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19; MT 6:7-15 ]
During this season of Lent, the Church recommends to us three pillars of preparation for growth in spiritual life, namely, fasting, good works and prayer. Today, the liturgy focuses on prayer. This reminder is opportune because some people might feel that work is more important than prayer. Others still, substitute prayer for work, justifying that their work is their prayer. This is true of those who are workaholics or simply do not know how to pray. Having said this, the Lenten program needs to be explained adequately. Just as good works is defined as helping Jesus in caring for the needy, the right way of praying needs some clarification, less some of us pray in vain.
One thing that we must avoid, according to Jesus, is not to “babble as the pagans do for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard.” Indeed, the purpose of prayer is not to manipulate God into doing things for us because if we do, we are only going to be badly disappointed. God cannot be bribed into doing things for people. Besides, the consequences of holding such a view of God are undesirable, for when our petitions are not answered, we can become resentful of God and eventually stop praying. It would also seem that God is not aware of what we need, when in fact, as Jesus assures us, “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” At any rate, such kind of prayer will not make us happier or better people. It makes us more self-centred, materialistic and demanding people.
So how can we truly pray? The Lord’s Prayer, which is the pattern of all prayer, gives us the rudiments for prayer. Firstly, we must realize that prayer is primarily a relationship. It presupposes that we are thirsting for God and want a relationship with Him. Without this deep thirst for Him, we will not find Him. Secondly, we must know who God is, since prayer is an encounter with God. But unless we recognize that God is our Father, we would be too fearful to approach Him. Only when we understand that God is Father, can we have intimacy with Him. Thirdly, we must know who we are. We must remember that we are God’s children and because we know that we are God’s children, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Solidarity with our fellowmen is the key to unity and life since fullness of life is found in communion not only with God but also with our fellowmen. Fourthly, we pray for the real needs in our lives and not ask for things that are detrimental to our well-being. We ask for daily bread because we do not wish to deprive others of their needs, nor do we continue to harbour grudges against our fellowmen since we are all brothers. By so doing, we live in the Kingdom of the Father, since our will is identical with the Father’s will; His wish for us is identical with our own wish. Such then is the perfect prayer. Scholars thus call this prayer, the prayer of the kingdom.
But can we truly make the Lord’s Prayer our own? Do we pray the Lord’s Prayer with the same conviction as Jesus? Do we have the interior spirit that the Lord’s Prayer wants to impart to us? In truth, the Lord’s Prayer is Jesus’ own response to God. It is the summary of His response to His Father’s plan. Consequently, if we want to give that same response, we must first listen to the Word of God. This is what Isaiah is exhorting us. Isaiah assures us of the efficacy of the Word, that the word that goes from the mouth of God does not return to Him empty without carrying His will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.
Consequently, if we were to follow Jesus in praying rightly and with a proper frame of mind, we must be like Jesus in listening attentively to the Father. We need to listen to the Word of God, for only the Word of God can reveal to us who God is; what He wants of us; and who we are and what we need. Only by immersing ourselves in the Word of God, will our desire and love for God be stimulated. Only by understanding the Word, can we share the mind and heart of God and therefore His will for us. So before we can pray, we must first listen. This is true in daily life. Before a child can talk, he must first listen so that he can speak. Before a student can ask intelligent questions, he must first listen to his teacher. Indeed, this same structure is seen at our Eucharistic celebration. The Word of God is first proclaimed. Then the responsorial psalm is prayed in response to the Word of God. Without listening to the Word, we cannot give a proper response.
We are fortunate that we have Jesus who is the master of prayer to teach us how to pray. The “Our Father” which He taught us is but His own perfect response to His Father’s love and will. Jesus as the perfect pray-er gives us the perfect prayer because He knows His Father intimately and He knows His heart and mind. Sharing the same spirit with His Father, He understood that His mission was to invite us all through Him to share in His Father’s love which is what the Kingdom is all about. And to attain this goal, we must do the will of the Fathersince His will is His wisdom. For this reason, too, He urges us to pray for our basic needs and not simply to fulfil our desires. For greed and desire deprive the poor of their share of this earth’s goods. Desires also cannot be satisfied. Rather, the most fundamental need of ours is the bread of life, the true bread from heaven. Only when we live in faith and trust in God’s providence, and truly recognize our brothers and sisters, can there be true joy, love and peace. Instead of being too preoccupied with what we need, we will be freed from anxiety in life and thereby live in peace, love and joy because we live in communion with God and with our fellowmen.
Thus, the Lord’s Prayer is the basis of our almsgiving and good works. Of course, Jesus is aware that with so much temptations in the world, we would not be able to be faithful to the Father’s will and that we might be distracted from our work of making God’s kingdom a reality in our lives. Hence, He exhorts us to pray for His strength as well; and most of all, for a foretaste of the kingdom and the Father’s love to be delivered from temptation. So today, let us pray for a deeper understanding of the Word. Listening to the Word of God, reading and mediating on the Word with faith, is a pre-requisite to praying in the mind of Christ. And as Jesus promised us that whoever prays in His name, that is, sharing His mind, such prayer would be answered by the Father. Thus, we will find our fulfilment and our joy, since to be one with God and with our fellowmen is to be in God’s house and in His kingdom.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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