584. Why do we say “our” Father? (part 2 continuation)
(Comp 584 repetition) “Our” expresses a
totally new relationship with God. When we pray to the Father, we adore and
glorify him with the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Christ we are “his” people and
he is “our” God now and for eternity. In fact, we also say “our” Father because
the Church of Christ is the communion of a multitude of brothers and sisters
who have but “one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32).
“In brief”
(CCC 2801) When we say "Our" Father, we are
invoking the new covenant in Jesus Christ, communion with the Holy Trinity, and
the divine love which spreads through the Church to encompass the world.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2790) Grammatically, "our" qualifies a
reality common to more than one person. There is only one God, and he is
recognized as Father by those who, through faith in his only Son, are reborn of
him by water and the Spirit (Cf. 1 Jn 5:1; Jn 3:5). The Church is this new communion of God and men. United with the only
Son, who has become "the firstborn among many brethren," she is in
communion with one and the same Father in one and the same Holy Spirit (Rom
8:29; Cf. Eph 4:4-6). In praying "our" Father, each of the baptized
is praying in this communion: "The company of those who believed were of
one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32).
Reflection
(CCC 2789) When we pray to "our" Father, we
personally address the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By doing so we do not divide
the Godhead, since the Father is its "source and origin," but rather
confess that the Son is eternally begotten by him and the Holy Spirit proceeds
from him. We are not confusing the persons, for we confess that our communion
is with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, in their one Holy Spirit. The
Holy Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible. When we pray to the Father, we
adore and glorify him together with the Son and the Holy Spirit. [END]
(Next question: With what spirit of
communion and mission do we pray to God as “our” Father?)
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