We call the "Our Father" the Lord's Prayer because Jesus taught his disciples this prayer. "The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of prayers...[It] not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2763, citing St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, 83, 9). With this in mind, we should ask to:
- BELIEVE
- SERVE
- SURRENDER
- ASK & SEEK
- FORGIVE
- PERSEVERE
This prayer teaches us that our first and foremost desires should be for belief in God, "Our Father." In love, God created humankind to love God in return. God did not create humans as puppets, though, to have blind faith. Rather, God created humans with free will, so that we would have the choice to accept and return God's love. When we pray this first line of the Our Father, we express our desire, our need, for belief in God.
If we sincerely pray "Our," we must recognize our connectedness to all of humanity and all of creation. Everything that we do affects other humans as well as creation. When we buy something, our purchase touches those people who sold it to us, those who shipped it to get to us, those who made it, etc. The materials used to make the item we purchased came from the created world. When we smile at someone, we can brighten their day. They, in turn, can then smile at someone else and brighten their day, and the cycle may continue.
As you reflect on the "Our" of this prayer, consider how your actions affect other people in the world as well as creation. Our actions create a web of effect. Consider one of your recent actions. Create a web noting who your action affected or touched. What is the impact of your action on the created world?
Before we pray "Our," we need to recognize and work to eliminate our prejudices. We have to recognize that God created ALL humans - even people who aren't nice to us, people we don't like, people who don't have the same beliefs that we do, and even terrorists. As children of God, we are collective and communal rather than individual. Jesus showed us how to live this collective and communal lifestyle when he associated with sinners and righteous alike. He didn't limit himself to the rich and powerful. Rather, he spoke to and ate with the sick, the poor, and the shunned. Jesus calls us to follow his example and work to overcome our prejudices.
Continue your reflection on "Our" by considering your prejudices. Who or what group of people do you tend to pre-judge? What prejudices do you need to let go of? Who do you need to accept?

