Day 2, Thursday, Book of Faith – Lenten Journey
“We never pray this prayer alone. Whenever we pray these words we stand with every other person – whether they pray this prayer or not.”
I have long known about, and taught, the importance of witnessing the lack of the individual in this prayer. There is no “my,” or “me,” or “I.” The new insight I gained from today’s reading is that the “our” goes way beyond all the pious Christians reciting this prayer together. All of humanity is addressed by this prayer, “whether they pray this prayer or not.” Seeing all of humanity as blood sisters and brothers changes the way we approach one another with the Gospel. “Yes Jesus has called me to share this with you, but I do so as one equal with you, a fellow sibling.”
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Almost all of my life I’ve known the Lord’s Prayer. I grew up Roman Catholic and would say the Rosary and would do penance after confession, many times requiring me to say four or five Our Fathers. I would say the prayer by rote most times flying through it like a house on fire, but I never really thought about what it was I was saying. Then things began to change – I began to change. I started to think about the Lord’s Prayer, the words I were saying became a personal thing between me and God and the prayer began to take on a deeper meaning for me. I realize that God is not just my Father but the Father of everything. I’ve a way to grow in my understanding but I truly believe I’m blessed to now consider the words I’m praying and to realize the meaning that they hold.