Sisters and brothers in Christ, in today's Gospel, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gives us the perfect prayer - the Lord's Prayer or the Our Father prayer. It is perfect because it comes from God but also because it orders for us how we should pray. First, a prayer of gratitude and praise for God. Second, the prayer expresses our desire for the Kingdom of heaven and that God's will be done in all aspects of our lives.
Third, we as God to sustain us, mostly importantly with the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ - the Eucharist - that nourish us physically, mentally, and spiritually. But we also ask God to nourish us with his word, as we heard in today's first reading from the Prophet Isaiah:
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Fourth, we pray for humble and contrite hearts that forgive others as God forgives us over and over again. Fifth, we beg God to never let us fall to sin and temptation but always protect us from the snares of the Devil who prowl about the world seeking the ruins of souls. Throughout the Lord's Prayer, we are reminded of our dependency on our Father in heaven, through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit.
. . .
Gospel of the Day
Jesus said to his disciples:
"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.
"This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
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