Daily Retreat 06/22/06

2006 Jun 22 Thu: Ordinary Weekday/ Paulinus of Nola, bp/ John Fisher, bp, mt, and Thomas More, mm, mt
Sir 48: 1-14/ Ps 96(97): 1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 7/ Mt 6: 7-15

 

From today’s readings:  “Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace....  The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad....  This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in Heaven....’  ”

 

Perfect Prayer

 

Since many saints have written such profound commentaries on the Lord’s Prayer, it seems appropriate on this day, when those verses are proclaimed, to pass on at least one sample of those saintly writings.

 

In one of his sermons on the Our Father, St. Thomas Aquinas remarked that the Lord’s prayer elucidates both what we ought to desire, and what we ought to avoid.  Since the glory of God should be sought first, it is the first petition mentioned: hallowed be Thy Name.  We pray for our eternal life (Thy kingdom come), and the complete fulfillment of God’s plan (Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven), and we turn to God for the necessities of this life (Give us this day our daily bread).

 

The opposite of those four goods are what we also implore God to save us from.  For, anything  directed away from the glory of God is Evil.  To remove the evil of sin, we say, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We pray to keep us far from temptation that leads to sin (and lead us not into temptation) and for definitive salvation from the Devil (but deliver us from Evil).