Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Just the first two words!
Plural Our. Not singular My.
Father… Abba in Aramaic - not distant, but here, close, involved, Dad, Loving Parent.
Just the first two words!
We are united with a God who knows our needs before they surface in our minds.
We are united with each other.
How glorious!
God, Abba, our, united, together, together-ness.
And we haven’t even begun to pray who art in heaven…
Just the first two words!
As we pray at mass
We hold hands in unison and look up
In supplication, acknowledgement, worship
As we hear others pray at mass, we are reminded of family, oneness, and relation – sisters and brothers in Christ our Lord
We have so much in common!
Just the first two words!
The Our Father reinforces community-
Community is a mirror reflecting the diversity, splendor, creativity, and
possibility
of our mutual faith.
Kevin Perrotta, author of The Our Father: A Guided Discovery for Groups and Individuals (2007), provides additional insight:
…it is worth giving a little thought also to the very first word of the prayer: “our.” When we say “our,” who is the “we” that we have in mind? Does it include only those who are close to us? Is the “we” –asked Ukrainian archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky –only those who belong to our ethnic group, our nation? … The word our is very small, the archbishop observed. “But what boundless prospects it presents, how it expands the heart and soul to yet unknown limits. The feeling of human solidarity knows no bounds, nor does it know the limitation of a heart which, satisfied with what it possesses, is unwilling to share with others.” Thus, when we call on God as “our” Father, we include in the “we” all who call him Father and, indeed, all whom God considers to be his children, regardless of what they think of him. And we accept the obligation of treating them as our brothers and sisters. (p. 20)
Let us pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, Loving Parent, Source of All Being, when I recite the Our Father at mass, help me to listen to the other voices around me. Remind me that I am not alone, but am connected to everyone praying in that moment, not only in Dayton, but throughout the whole world. Thank you, Lord Jesus, our loving Shepherd, for teaching this prayer, for anticipating our needs, and for bringing us together as one family in you. Amen.
-Rachael Griggs