Twenty-Seventh Wednesday of Ordinary Time

When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.

We can learn a lot from this simple prayer. It teaches us to call God, Father, and hallow His Name. It also reminds us that the purpose of our prayers should be to call forth the Kingdom. At the center of the prayer is the appeal for our Father to give us our daily bread, the Bread of Life, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus. It also makes clear that the forgiveness of our sins is tied to our own ability to forgive others. Finally, it asks our Heavenly Father to spare us from the final test. This prayer is a summation of our faith and a perfect expression of our trust in God and our willingness to participate in His Divine Plan for our salvation.

Do we recognize God as our Heavenly Father and give him the respect He is due? Do we make a prayer of spiritual communion with God whenever we cannot receive the Eucharist? Are we as forgiving of others as we ask God to be forgiving of us?

O Lord, you are our Heavenly Father. May your kingdom be made manifest on earth through our every thought, word and work.

Amen.