Gospel (Lk 11:1-4)
He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.”
Commentary
Luke tells us that Jesus prayed frequently, which left a deep impression on his disciples. To do so he often withdrew to a secluded and quiet place. We can address God in various ways: as Creator, as Sovereign, as Judge. But those men close to Jesus wanted to approach God in the way they saw their Master doing, with the trust of a son with his father.
This can help us to realize that the people around us, if they are attracted by our way of praying, will find in us an example for their own prayer. For we Christians are called to pass on a tradition of prayer that begins in Jesus himself and that has been lived, over more than two thousand years, by so many people who have approached God the Father as his sons or daughter.
In Matthew’s version of the Gospel, the word “Father” is preceded by “our.” We address God personally, but with the awareness that each person lives and grows in the heart of a family. No one travels through life alone. No one grows up alone. God himself is a family of persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Our Father we express the desire that everyone may recognize God’s holiness, welcome him as Father and let Christ reign in their heart, so that all our desires, thoughts and deeds may be inspired by love.
We cannot call God Father and overlook the fact that we have many brothers and sisters. Love for God and love for neighbor always go hand in hand. Hence at the heart of our prayer is also the request for the nourishment that enables us to mature personally and to grow in communion with others: welcoming, forgiving, praying for them, trying to bring them closer to God. Our relationship with our Father God brings with it abandonment and trust in the face of obstacles and the attacks of the enemy: don’t let us fall into temptation, don’t let us desert you for anything, don’t let us put anything above You.