First Tuesday of Lent

In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the perfect prayer—the Our Father. In this simple prayer we are given a microcosm of our faith. We recognize God as Our Heavenly Father and hallow his name. We remind ourselves that the focus of our faith should be on the second coming and doing God’s Will on earth. We ought to desire the daily bread of the Eucharistic celebration, but also the future bread of the heavenly feast. We ask for the forgiveness of our sins and the grace to forgive others. Finally, we petition God to protect us from temptation and evil. This single prayer encompasses the petitions at the heart of our faith and every time we pray it we unite ourselves to Our Father and all of His beloved children.

Do we meditate on the Our Father when we pray it or do we just say the words? What can we do to take these words into our hearts and live them? What petitions do we have for God today?

O Lord, when we pray the Our Father grant us the grace to ask you for what we really need, and not just what we want.

Amen.