St. Augustine said that every prayer we could ever think of is already in the Lord’s Prayer. The Our Father is like spiritual cross-training: in its seven petitions, we hit all the major “muscle groups” we need for a strong connection with God, ourselves, and our neighbors.
I want to share with you a meditation on the Our Father that came to me yesterday in prayer. Join me on an informal stroll through this most powerful prayer — the one Jesus himself gave us — as we ponder how it applies to the stresses we’re facing today.
Love always,
Rose
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Lord of heaven and earth, your name is above every other name in the heavens and on the earth. You are the Lord of all. Grant me the grace to revere everything about you because your name encompasses all that you are. Grant me the grace to hold in reverence everything you have created, for you promise us that it is good. Grant me the grace to cling to the good and always be filled up by the goodness you have put in me and in every other human being and in all creation.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I want to want your will, Lord. Help me to realize at every moment, especially this precious moment, that your will is working powerfully in me. I invite you, Lord, to work your glorious will in me throughout this whole day.
Give us this day our daily bread.
I am the bread of life, you remind me. Can I be like Mary and choose the better part today? Even in my busiest times, will you place your heart close to mine so I may feed from the only nourishment my soul needs?
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lord, forgiveness is hard for me. My pride is pricked by so many evils. Let me stay close to you, Lord, and soak in your mercy so that I may show your mercy to those who so greatly test my charity and patience by unjust words and actions. Blessed Mother, who stood resolutely at the foot of the Cross, trusting that God would bring the greatest mercy out of the greatest injustice, pray for me.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Lord it seems that I am surrounded by the evil that has been unleashed on the world. And I am ambushed by my own unloving thoughts and desires. Be my refuge today, Lord. When I am tempted to answer evil with evil, focus my mind on the good I can do in that moment, so that your love becomes the driving force for every thought, word, and action throughout this day.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory now and forever.
Lord, draw my mind to your glorious purpose for me and let my thoughts and imagination find their peace and happiness in you alone. Thank you, Lord, for calling me in this moment to unite with your Sacred Heart in prayer. I love you. Be with me always.
Amen.
Carol Ramsey
I’m just now beginning the sessions!
It hit the spot of what I truly need to do now during & after Lent!
It’s 12:30 A.M. Sunday I I’ve read the “renovation of ourself & soul for Lent! After reading this tonight, I know what is need to do for a good Lent! I’m a terrible procrastinator, it’s like I do better & get things done under a time restraint putting pressure on myself to do what could have been done earlier!
Also, I’ve found myself watching way too much TV & I will stop watching all TV for Lent! There are more important ways to spend my days & evenings! I have done this when I was a young girl in Catholic School, about 6th grade, I’d stay in my bedroom & if could hear TV I’d put cotton or hold my hands over my ears not to even hear it! That didn’t happen too often! I accomplished my Lenten “renovation” with success & felt so good about myself! So this is the time for me to stop complaining, procrastinating, & wasting time, & continuing to assist others in need at my SR Citizen Apts, which is what I do from time to time!
Linda Hatrzell
Rose
Thank you so much for your inspiring thoughts on the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.
Dear Lord,
You are my God,
You are Lord of all,
You guide my will,
You are my food,
You show me mercy,
You are my protector,
I praise you forever. Amen.
Lisa
Thank you this is a beautiful reflection.
Lucia Broussard
Thank you. I needed to read this. Thank you thinking to send this to me
Regine Gerage
I really enjoyed this. Thank you. I look forward to more.
Janice Hummel
Rose, thank you for this beautiful expansion of Our Lord’s Prayer. I have printed it so I can refer to it during my daily prayer time.
Tom Roberts
I must admit to the seemingly mundane practice of reciting the Lord’s Prayer, then the 23rd Psalm, then the Blessed John XXII “How Much More Will the Father Give,” then Mother Teresa’s “Do it Anyway” much as one would do morning calisthenics. But it works for me like a pre-flight checklist as I implement Father Randy Timmerman’s admonition “Get your identity straight, get your mission straight.” Maybe it appeals to my motor brain when the intellectual side isn’t quite ready to function. In the final analysis I subscribe to Aristotle’s observation that “We are what we repeatedly do.”
Diane Upham
Dear Rose ,
How beautifully expressed your message is today as always, your format of breaking down
The Lord’s Prayer into such directed thoughts and feelings was exactly what I needed today and everyday!!
I will read your words as often as possible to lift me up when life’s demands are heavy.
Thank you so very much for your support!!
Much love, Diane
Helen
Thank you Rose. I am having so much trouble focusing in my prayers. I start the Rosary and can’t even
remember where I am 5 minutes later. Sometime it is so bad I need to put my Rosary away. I so want deep prayer and praying for it but it isn’t happening. Jesus was tempted but He kept His focus wish I could keep mine.
Rose Folsom
Helen,
I was touched by your comment about not being able to keep your focus. Did you know that Pope Saint John XXIII had the same problem? Yes! I’m reading his journal now and he keeps coming back to that. So take heart. Don’t “put your Rosary away,” but keep it going no matter what your focus is like. It’s the devil who wants you to quit — God just wants your love and prayers in the best way you can manage at the moment. Our Lady is smiling on your efforts.
Hope this helps!
Rose
Joyce Miles
Hi
My focus is God First to start my day with grace.
Noon prayer to keep my day in good spirits.
Evening singing praises giving God the Glory.
Night prayer to sleep comfortably and remove any doubts or worries on my mind and also for God protection.
Mary Stroud
Dear Rose, Thank you got sharing this beautiful meditation on the our Father. May God bless you abundantly.
Rose Folsom
Joyce,
Thank you for reminding us that prayer before bedtime lets us fall asleep thinking of God and not our worries.
Rose
Amanda
Thank u so much for dissecting the lord’s prayer and applying to how this powerful prayer is a solace of never being without the Lord.
Rose Folsom
Amanda,
So glad it brought you closer to the Lord.
Rose
Leah
Thank you Rose for reminding us the Lord’s Prayer says it all and is especially powerful in our Lenten prayer! Leah
Judi Wiktor
Rose,
Thank you for the beautiful meditations on the “Lord’s Prayer”.
I love Lent & all the reminders to help us to grow closer to Jesus.
God bless with this ministry!
Judi
Filomena
Thank you Rose for this beautiful meditation on The Lord’s Prayer. It comes in a timely manner during the first week of Lent. I often pray “Thy will be done” when things seem too big for me to handle. That’s when I remind myself about God’s perfect plan!
Rose Folsom
COMMENTS ARRIVED VIA EMAIL:
Rose,
Thank you ever so much for this gentle prayer/expansion on the Lord’s prayer.
It was deeply appreciated.
Maureen
+++
Hello Rose!!
A blessed Sunday to you and your family (always in my prayers)!
Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer simply outstanding!
God bless,
Sal