Thursday, October 10, 2013
581. What place does the Our Father have in the prayer of the Church? (part 1)
(Comp 581) The Lord’s Prayer is the
prayer of the Church par excellence. It is “handed on” in Baptism to signify
the new birth of the children of God into the divine life. The full meaning of
the Our Father is revealed in the eucharist since its petitions are based on
the mystery of salvation already accomplished, petitions that will be fully
heard at the coming of the Lord. The Our Father is an integral part of the
Liturgy of the Hours.
“In brief”
(CCC 2776) The Lord's Prayer is the quintessential prayer of
the Church. It is an integral part of the major hours of the Divine Office and
of the sacraments of Christian initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and
Eucharist. Integrated into the Eucharist it reveals the eschatological
character of its petitions, hoping for the Lord, "until he comes" (1
Cor 11:26).
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2767) This indivisible gift of the Lord's words and of
the Holy Spirit who gives life to them in the hearts of believers has been
received and lived by the Church from the beginning. The first communities
prayed the Lord's Prayer three times a day (cf. Didache 8, 3), in place of the "Eighteen Benedictions"
customary in Jewish piety.
Reflection
(CCC 2768) According to the apostolic tradition, the Lord's
Prayer is essentially rooted in liturgical prayer: [The Lord] teaches us to
make prayer in common for all our brethren. For he did not say "my
Father" who art in heaven, but "our" Father, offering petitions
for the common body (St. John Chrysostom, Hom.
in Mt. 19, 4: PG 57, 278). In all the liturgical traditions, the Lord's
Prayer is an integral part of the major hours of the Divine Office. In the
three sacraments of Christian initiation its ecclesial character is especially
in evidence: [IT CONTINUES]
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