Our Father

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by 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. Amen."

This morning, we did our daily Lenten devotional before the boys left for school. Today's suggested penance is a ten minute reflection on the Our Father. We are to more fully examine what the prayer says and means, rather than merely reciting it without thought.

The commentary this morning gave us background information about the prayer. It analysed the prayer. It talked of the opening of the prayer which glorifies God. It also explained how the prayer covers our requests for his daily assistance. Finally, we read we should be praying the Our Father three times daily. We should pray it in the morning, in the evening and during Daily Mass.

At this point, I don't feel Daily Mass is going to be a daily reality for me. Currently, I attend Daily Mass one Monday a month. In time, I am sure this number will grow, but that is not my reality right now. This means, I would need to say an Our Father at another time of the day, if I follow the three times a day, like the devotional suggested. I will need to do some research to verify how to proceed, to ensure I am following the intent. For now, though, I will need to add the Our Father to my morning and evening prayers.

After the boys left this morning, I went upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. The television was on and Daily Mass was playing on EWTN. I arrived in the midst of Father Frank Pavone's homily. The focus was on the Our Father. I hit the rewind button on the Tivo and found the Gospel is from Mark, where we are given the Our Father prayer. Then, I was able to see the homily from the beginning. I now have a different perspective on this beautiful petition. I will dare to pray the Our Father two more times today. Tonight, I will watch this homily again, this time with the boys so they can see Father Pavone's explanation of the Gospel and how it relates to us in our daily lives.