Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) - July 25, 2010

Liturgical readings

Genesis 18:20-32
Psalm 138
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11:1-13

"Lord, teach us to pray..."

Jesus teaches the 'Our Father'. When Jesus' disciples went to Him and asked Him how they are to pray, Jesus taught them the following: the Lord's Prayer (the 'Our Father'); the importance of praying with persistence; and the value of praying with faith - knowing that God will give us all the good we need as we continually ask, seek and knock on His door.

In her book, "Our Catholic Prayer", Therese J. Borchard quotes St. Thomas of Aquinas in his writing on the subject of the Lord's Prayer:

"The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of prayers...In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired."

The Lord's Prayer is an important prayer formally prayed in community during the celebration of the Eucharist. By this prayer, we understand that through Jesus, we become brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters of one Father. And the Bread and Wine of Life that comes from the altar, we consume in common as individuals, families, and communities consecrated to God.

Points for reflection: What part of the Lord's Prayer do we need to really emphasize in our present age? How do we know that what we really pray for in the Lord's Prayer will come to pass? What can we learn of God in this prayer?

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