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It’s Day 355!!
MCNUGGET DAY!!
When Jesus gave us the Our Father, He was summarizing the ENTIRE GOSPEL
St. Augustine said, “Run through all the words of the holy prayers of Scripture, do not think you will find anything in them that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer.”
What a gift is is to have Jesus Himself teach us
Let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father, you are good. You are God. You are trustworthy. We know that we can lean into your heart. We know that we can lean into your will. We know that we can trust your will in good times and in bad. We know that we can trust you when we are filled with consolation and when we are burdened by challenges and sufferings. When we face death even, we know that we can trust you in desolation. In all times, Lord, help us to be faithful to you. When we can no longer hold on to you, hold on to us. Don’t ever let us walk away from you. Lord God, please keep us in the palm of your hand, keep us in the center of your heart. Help us to walk with you every day of our lives. And when we do fall, when we do walk away, when we do say no to you, pick us up as the Father picks up his children, and hold us closer to you. Make us strong like you, and bring us back to your heart. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”
So there we have it!!
What is essential when it comes to our relationship with God?
It is ESSENTIAL that we get the identity of God RIGHT
It is ESSENTIAL that we get the fact that God is not a tyrant, God is the Father
God is not a dictator, God is Dad
He is a good Dad
He is a good Father
So many people know what it is like to have a broken relationship with their dad or to have an absent father, or a cruel father
God is not like that
God our Father is a good Dad
When we approach God, we are approaching our good Dad
Trust is the key
If there is anything that is a key to prayer, there is humility, perseverance, yes
TRUST is going to make all of the difference in the world
If we do not trust God, we will be suspicious, even of His blessings
If we trust God, then we trust Him even in the midst of our burdens and in the midst of our suffering
We trust God even when it doesn’t feel like there are blessings, even if it feels like He isn’t present, or it doesn’t feel like He is active
If I trust God, I know that He is not only the Lord, but He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and by adoption, He is our Dad
Then when we receive the gift with gratitude and not suspicion, we can even receive those crosses with gratitude and love
This is one of the fundamental things that Jesus taught us when He gave us the Lord’s Prayer
It is at the center of the Scriptures not only because of the petitions
Not only because we reorder our hearts
Not just words external to us
If we just say the words of the Lord’s Prayer, that is fine, but that is not the point
The point is that we have an inner conversion
ETHOS
Our inner world is drawn to what God loves and repelled by what God hates
The Lord’s Prayer is meant to transform our hearts because Jesus is both the Master and the Model of our prayer
Fr. Mike forgot to mention this next part which is from yesterday…
Paragraph 2771 says, “In the Eucharist, the Lord’s Prayer also reveals the eschatological character of its petitions. It is the proper prayer of ‘the end-time,’ the time of salvation that began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and will be fulfilled with the Lord’s return. The petitions addressed to our Father, as distinct from the prayers of the old covenant, rely on the mystery of salvation already accomplished, once for all, in Christ crucified and risen.”
That is what we are looking for
We are waiting for the Lord to return
It seems like we go to the Lord and He is not coming to us
AND YET…
His promise is that He will come to us
Paragraph 2772 says, “From this unshakeable faith springs forth the hope that sustains each of the seven petitions, which express the groanings of the present age, this time of patience and expectation during which ‘it does not yet appear what we shall be.’ The Eucharist and the Lord’s Prayer look eagerly for the Lord’s return, ‘until he comes.’”
We are living in a time of patience and expectation
Things are not as they one day will be
BUT…
They will be, one day
They are not now, and that is the patience
So we continue to pray, have humility, have loving perseverance, and above all, trust as we pray the Lord’s Prayer
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I’ll be done eventually…
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