Reflection on the Lord's Prayer

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Sometimes we think that our prayers are a private matter between us and God; between me and God. And it is true that sometimes it is. And it is important that we have that personal prayer time with Lord. But not all prayer is that way.

I have talked to many people who no longer go to church. One reason they give for this is that they don’t need the “church” to pray to God. They don’t need to pray with other people to be spiritual.

This is not the lesson of the Lord’s Prayer. This is not a private prayer, although we often say it privately. Jesus didn’t give us a prayer that is just for ourselves. He gave us something to pray with each other. He gave us a community prayer and by doing so he teaches us that praying in community is an important part of our spiritual lives. That it is an important part of our relationship with the Living God.

• Jesus did teach the disciples the “My Father, who art in heaven” - it’s the OUR Father.

• Jesus didn’t pray for his own needs but for “our” needs. Give us this day our daily Bread.” It’s not “my daily bread.” It’s not “give me.”

• In the prayer that Jesus gave us it’s “forgive us” – not “forgive me.”

• He leads US away from temptation and delivers US from evil.

Some prayer is private, between me and God. But if that takes on a life of its own outside the community of believers we are actually driving a wedge into our relationship with the Lord. We need each other to support us on our journey; to pray for each other; to be one with one another.

Jesus showed us this in other ways as well.

• He gathered a community of apostles and disciples around him.

• He sent out the disciples to preach and heal not individually but in pairs.

• He founded on the rock of Peter not a loosely connected bunch of individuals but a church.

• We believe in the communion of saints – that is a holy community of saints – past, present and to come.

To separate ourselves from the church or to separate ourselves from each other – in any way, to refuse see the dignity in each person, is to separate ourselves from Christ. As we pray the Lord’s Prayer at Mass or with the Hail Mary in our rosaries, or as we say our prayers before we go to bed, let’s keep in mind that our prayer is one of community and for the well being of us all.