“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:
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. Amen.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;
but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Prayer for Generosity
Dearest Lord,
Teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve You and desire You;
to give and not count the cost;
To fight and not heed the wounds;
To toil and not seek for rest;
To labor and not ask for reward
Save that of knowing that I am doing Your will.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of Jesuit Order
Types of Prayers
Blessing
Request that God give his graces to a someone or something (ex. God bless you or bless you)
Speak good words of someone, including of God
God offers us his gifts/graces, and we bless him in return with good words of Thanksgiving/Praise
Adoration
Act of mind and will that recognizes the creator God alone as worthy of supreme honor
Petition
We humbly ask God for forgiveness, the kingdom of God, or any personal need
Intercession
Earnest request or petition on behalf of another
Thanksgiving (Eucharist)
We thank God for the gifts we have received, our joys and our sorrows
Praise
Glorifies God for his own sake, not for what He does, but for what He is
Sources: SHMS Introduction to Spirituality Class, Father Meldrum; Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon, S.J.; United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed (holy) 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 (sins),
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
- Disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray”
- Jesus responds with the perfect model for prayer
- How we should pray
- For what we should pray
- We are praying to God, along with God, using God’s inspired words
1. Do you have a consistent prayer time? When is the most convenient time for you to pray?
2. Many people pray mostly by petitioning God. Dr. Healey mentions praise, petition, and
forgiveness. Do you include all three elements in your prayers?
3. When you pray, do you feel the Lord’s presence? Do you feel at peace?
Bishop Barron on The Lord's Prayer
1. In what ways is God’s kingdom already here on earth?
2. In what ways is God’s kingdom absent on earth?
3. Bishop Barron said forgiveness is at the heart of Jesus’s teachings and that lack of forgiveness is at the root of many contemporary problems. How might we be better at forgiving?
The Power of Prayer: Father Michael Schmitz
1. What is the primary end of prayer?
2. What are the three reasons Father Schmitz gives us for prayer?
3. How does prayer change things?
4. How does prayer change us?
Our Father Who Art In Heaven
- Jesus spoke of God as Father
- Our Father
- Loves us
- Desires our good
- Provides for us
- Sacrifices for us
- Lives with us
- Jesus said, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)
- God is in Heaven, not accessible through our five senses
- God is intimately close to us (immanent), but also far above us (transcendent)
- Times when we may feel him close to us
- Eucharist
- Moments of crisis
- Moments of profound happiness
- Have you felt God’s presence or divine love with you?
Hallowed (Holy) Be They Name
- We are not asking God to make his name holy
- God’s name is already holy (set apart)
- We are asking God to help us recognize that His name is holy
- We are asking that God’s name be honored and glorified by us (and by others)
- If God’s name is honored and made holy in us, all the other petitions will follow
- Jesus: “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21)
- But we do not fully love God or neighbor
- We sin / disobey / fall short
- Heavenly Life
- God’s kingdom in its fullness
- Eternal bliss beyond our imagination
- Beatific vision / knowledge of God in his essence
- Perfect love of God and neighbor
- We are asking for God’s kingdom more fully now and for heaven when we die
Thy Will Be Done
- What is God’s Will?
- Supreme Commandments
- Jesus says, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength… love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)
- Human Devotion
- Constant, resolute, prompt, and active will to do whatever is pleasing to God
- Eternal Union with Him
- “God … desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
- We are asking the Father to unite our will with His, so we can love and obey Him in this life and spend eternity with Him thereafter
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
- The Father wants to feed and protect his children
- Daily bread can be interpreted multiple ways
- Daily bread can mean food or other material needs in this life
- Daily bread can mean the Eucharist (super-essential bread)
- Daily was translated from a Greek word epiousios meaning super-essential
- Jesus “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (John 6:53)
- The Scriptures are profoundly deep and have multiple levels of meaning
- Asking ”this day” for ”daily bread” requires a profound trust in God
- Not worried or anxious about the future
- Trusting in God’s providence
- All our blessings are from God and are to be shared
Trust In The Lord
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
- Old Testament
- He provided manna in the desert, quail in the wilderness, water from the rock
- He protected Israel in Battle
- He performed many miracles (split the Red Sea)
- He provided the Ten Commandments
- New Testament
- He multiplied loaves and fishes
- He provided the Eucharist
- He taught the path to salvation
- He performed many miracles (healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, rose from dead)
- He delivered the Sermon on the Mount
- He is still providing for us today
Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us
- Forgive us at the same time we are forgiving others
- Forgive us in the same way we forgive others
- Forgive us to the extent we forgive others
- Terrifying and humbling thought
- We better not forgive partially of half heartedly
- This petition may not be heard unless we have met the strict requirement
- Only petition so important that the Lord repeats it several times
- Sermon on the Mount: “if you forgive men their trespasses (sins), your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
- Forgiving others must be an essential if the Lord placed it in the perfect prayer
Lead Us Not Into Temptation
- Better translation: Do not let us yield to temptation
- Our Father is all good and tempts no one to evil
- As children of the Father, we have free will
- Our sins result from yielding to temptations
- We are asking the Father not to allow us to fall into sin
Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church (2846)
Deliver Us From Evil
- Evil is not an abstraction
- Evil may refer (as Bishop Barron notes) to major problems of this life
- Evil may refer to the Evil One, Satan, the angel who opposes God (formal translation from Greek)
- Best defense against evils / Satan is to be close to Jesus and his Church
- Saint Paul says, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)
- The Eucharist
- Increases union With Christ
- Strengthens the bonds of charity with Christ
- Forgives venial sins
- Preserves one from grave sin
- When evil knocks, Jesus is there to answer
Source(s): Catechism of the Catholic Church (1416, 2851)
Closing Prayer 1 Dominican Blessing
May God the Father bless us.
May God the Son heal us.
May God the Holy Spirit enlighten us, and give us
eyes to see with,
ears to hear with,
hands to do the work of God with,
feet to walk with,
a mouth to preach the word of salvation with,
and the angel of peace to watch over us and lead us
at last, by our Lord's gift, to the kingdom.
Amen.
To help answer some of the questions that were asked during our session...
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