October 31, 2013 – Catechism 2765 – 2772

Have you thought about the Our Father as a prayer that encompasses all that we will ever need or ask for.  Isn’t that what God would give us if we asked how to pray.  He would give us a prayer that, regardless of the situation or circumstances, no matter what we were asking for or thanking Him for, God would give us a prayer that would work in all cases.  That is what the Our Father is, that is what it accomplishes.  It is the perfect prayer for all situations.

The disciples asked how to pray and Christ didn’t say kneel, stand; He didn’t give a long reflection, He didn’t say make up your own.  He was asked how you should pray and the answer that He gave is an answer from God.  I have never thought of the Our Father as a perfect universal prayer.  I have never thought about it as the go to for any situation that you are struggling with.  I have never seen it as a prayer to pray when you are worried about this or that or trying to make a decision.  It has been the formal prayer you say in Mass, during the Rosary, what we say during retreats.  I am going to try and see it differently, try to use it more, trust God that the prayer He taught us is a prayer that covers every circumstance.  I think I have limited the Our Father.  I am going to try and set it free.