DAILY GRACE
June 18, 2020, Thursday of the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time
Scripture: Matthew 6:7-15
‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
‘Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation
““Our Father”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus, the master pray-er, teaches us how to pray. In this lesson, he shows us the connection between prayer and our relationships. He assures us that we do not need to multiply words in order to be heard, for the simple yet profound reason that God is “your Father (who knows what you need before you ask him.” Yes! God is our Father! As our Parent, God loves us and takes care of us. Would our relationship with God be different if we believed more deeply that he is our loving and caring Father?
Jesus then teaches us to pray, “Our Father . . .” With this single word, “our,” Jesus reveals our relationship with one another. God is our Father; we are all sisters and brothers. What a vast family we have — siblings everywhere! Everyone we read about in the newspaper or hear about on TV or pass on the street is our sister or brother. Everyone with whom we live or work is our sister or brother.
This truth can change the way we regard and treat one another. With this faith vision, we recognize others as our brothers and sisters, worthy of love and respect. Then, peace and harmony can flourish among us. Would the police officer who killed George Floyd by holding his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes have done so if he had seen Mr. Floyd as his brother? Hardly.
It is not surprising of course that our human weaknesses get in the way and damage or break our relationships. Thankfully, Jesus gives us the key to healing these relationships: forgiveness. He also stresses how important forgiveness is when he teaches us that our heavenly Father will forgive us only if we forgive one another.
Sometimes it can seem impossible to forgive or to ask for forgiveness. I know. Boy, how I know! Still, our only recourse is prayer: asking God for the grace. We can trust that God will hear our prayer. Gradually we will begin to be able to forgive others or to ask for forgiveness. Our relationships with God and with others will deepen and flourish.
Prayer
Lord, when you taught us how to pray you also revealed how connected we are to our heavenly Father and to one another. Thank you! What a gift to be a child of the Father and a brother or sister to everyone. I do not always remember that we are related, and I need your help to acquire this wonderful faith vision. At times I do not treat others with love and respect. Please give me the grace to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others when they hurt me. May our unity and love flourish so that we may experience a foretaste of heavenly love.
Contemplation
Our Father.