SIXTH LESSON
The Lord's Prayer Explained.
"Thus therefore shall ye pray."—ST. MATTTHEW 6:9
Our Lord, being one day surrounded by a great number of people, who followed him attracted by the report of his miracles. ascended a hill, from the top of which he spoke to this multitude, eager to listen to his holy words. The Gospel gives us the whole of the admirable sermon Jesus Christ then preached. This sermon is the abridgment of the divine law He came on earth to impart. The sacred duty of prayer could not be forgotten by our Lord, so He wished to teach us how to perform it properly, and at the same time to destroy a then general error, that the longest prayer is also the best. "When you pray," said Jesus Christ, "do not make long speeches: your Father knows what you need before you ask him for it. Thus therefore shall ye pray: 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 today our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. but deliver us from evil. Amen,"
This prayer, called the Lord's prayer, is the best we can say, as it was dictated to us by Jesus Christ himself. That is why the Church repeats it so often during the offices, why parents teach it to their little children, as soon as they begin to speak, and every day we repeat it in our morning and evening prayers. Try, my dear children, not to say it merely by habit. I am going to explain to you each one of its words, which include thoughts that you can understand, and with the meaning of which it is right you should be fully acquainted while offering up to God this admirable prayer.
We begin by saying: Our Father—and are we not God's children? Has He not created us by His power, adopted us by His mercy, and made us brethren of His Son Jesus Christ? Is it not he also who watches over and preserves us, who gives us all we possess, and first of all those kind parents who take care of our childhood? He is thus indeed our Father, He is also the best of fathers. My God, am I really the affectionate and dutiful child I should be to thee? We call God our Father, because he is the father of all men, and that we ought always to pray for one another.
Who art in heaven.—God is present everywhere; but it is in heaven that He dwells in all His glory, and it is there that the Saints and Angels sing to Him eternal praise and adoration. Heaven is the home of our Father, where each one of us has his allotted place. O my children, let us be good here below, and thus deserve one day to join Our Father who is in heaven.
Hallowed be Thy Name.—God's name is the most holy of all names; it cannot become more so by our prayers, but what we ask is that this divine name may be known and adored all over the earth; that it may cease to be impiously blasphemed, and that we, at least, may never pronounce it otherwise than with respect and love.
Thy kingdom come.—God is the King of kings, the master of all things; but He desires and we wish to see his reign established in every heart. Do not refuse him yours, my dear children; He only asks them of you to make you happy.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven.—There is but one will in heaven: the will of God, to which the Angels and Saints submit with joy. Here below it is quite the reverse: every one desires to act according to his own fancy; we generally follow our tastes and our caprices in preference to the law of God. We rebel very often against those who have the power of commanding us, and it often happens that we murmur at the events of life he allows or ordains. It would be in vain, my children, for us to ask God by prayer, that his will may be accomplished, if we stubbornly refuse to do it: so we must first of all begin by submitting to it with all our heart, so as to be able afterwards to say most sincerely: My God, I have no other will but thine; I want to obey Thee on earth as the angels obey Thee in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.—By these words, my children, we pray to God to grant us what is necessary for the body and for the soul. The poor, who have no other means of subsistence, excepting those which Providence sends them, verily rely upon divine Providence for their bit of daily food. The rich, who can buy their food, ask God for it all the same, thus showing it is from Him they derive their wealth; and we all ask for bread only, to teach us that we must live simply and be content with little. If, in thy goodness, O my God, thou givest us more than what is absolutely necessary, we promise Thee to share it with the poor.
The bread which constitutes the food of the soul is God's grace, His divine word, and particularly the holy Eucharist, which you will have the happiness to receive one day.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them who trespass against us.—The forgiveness granted to those of our brethren who have wronged or grieved us, is the condition of the forgiveness God grants us when we have offended him. God will show no mercy to those who have shown no pity to others. And what a misfortune would it not be, my children, not to be able to rely upon that mercy for which we stand in such great need? Let us then never feel spiteful or entertain malice against any one, let us forget the evil done to us, and let us forgive it with all our heart, so that the Lord may also forget all our faults and forgive them in his turn.
And lead us not into temptation.—God never tempts any one, my children; only he allows us to be tempted by the evil spirit. That is why we ask God every day to avert from us, if possible, the opportunities which may expose us to the misfortune of offending him, why we pray him not to allow us ever to be tempted beyond our strength.
But deliver us from evil.—By this last request, my children, we pray God to preserve us from all evil, from the sufferings of the body, as well as from the sorrows of the heart, and particularly from the only real evil, that evil which is most to be feared, sin, which would make us God's enemies.
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