Our Father

The fourth pillar of our Catholic FaithPresented by J.P. Pacis

*Our Father

*Our Heavenly Father

*Jesus taught to pray to our

Heavenly Father

The First Half of the PrayerThe ‘R’ Father

* An invitation onto RELATIONSHIP* A Title of Divine REVELATION* The Art of RESPONSE* The Journey toward Our REUNION* The Invitation to REVERENCE* The Challenge of RENOUNCEMENT* REAFFIRMING Whose Will We Seek* The Opportunity for REMEMBRANCE

Our/ Father/ who art/ in heaven./ Hallowed be thy

name./ Thy Kingdom come./ Thy will be done/ on earth

as it is in heaven./

*“Our” – An Invitation into RELATIONSHIP

GOD

EverybodyMyself

*“Father” – A Title of Divine

REVELATIONIs not afraid of making a mess in life. He wants to

help me clean it up.

Does not like whining. He wants

me to talk and listen to Him.

Knows when we sin. He is waiting

patiently for us as He has not heard

back from us.

Blesses us with more than what we

truly deserve.

Loves us unconditionally

because we are His own children.

Desires us to have me in His presence

more often.

Rejoices in me when I share my

talents (His gift to us) with the world.

Would do anything to take away my

pain to the point of dying on the cross.

*“who art” – The Art of RESPONSE

God’s presence is always there, through the sacraments.

God shows us that

true fatherhood is all about sacrifice.

God created us

out of love.

God gives us free will, and with that free will an ability to accept or reject His love for us.

Jesus tells us of God’s response to us through

the parable of the Prodigal Son, Lost Sheep, Missing

Coin

Let our response to God be that of love, mercy and charity we show to His children

on earth.

*“in heaven” – The Journey Toward Our REUNION

Challenge: to live for the future while still being in the present. We need to live in prayer constantly.

Prayer leads us to Our Father in Heaven, our ultimate goal to be reunited with our loved ones and God the Father.

Our lives are filled with suffering when our goal and God’s goal differ. When our goals are united, the pathway to heaven becomes easier.

*“Hallowed be Thy Name” – The Invitation

to REVERENCE“The name of God is consecrated. It is holy. God’s name is not merely transcendent and mysterious; it is intimate and personal and interpersonal.” – Dr. Scott Hahn

“To be holy means to be ‘consecrated’ or ‘set apart’ for a reason. We set things apart and revere them in an effort to keep them special, to maintain a level of purity. It is through an awareness of sacredness, an awareness of holiness, that we are invited into reverence.” – Mark Hart

*“Thy kingdom come” – The Challenge of RENOUNCEMENT

Renouncing our worldly and earthly things that has promised us security and happiness apart from God.

Total reliance on God’s plan for us should be what we pray for

Then life on earth will be like our life in heaven – eternal happiness

“The sacraments are designed to destroy you…designed to destroy you and leave only God within you. We call this life of God within us grace.” – Mark Hart

*“Thy Will be done” – REAFFIRMING whose

will we seek

“Mary’s perfect faithfulness paved the way for God to accomplish his will through her.”

Christ’s prayer reminds us that love is far more than a feeling; love is a decision.

“God’s GPS is the Holy Spirit. If we heeded the directions offered through Him, we would get to heaven.” – Mark Hart

“A saint give God permission to remove anything and anyone from his life that keeps him from sainthood. They reaffirm God’s promise in a bold and practical way.”

*“On earth as it is in heaven” – The

Opportunity for REMEMBRANCE Every single

Mass, God is offering to become one with me – to re-member me – as I receive Him in the Eucharist, to become one member, again and again, with him.

Sacrifice helps us put and keep God in the center of our lives.

The mass is a sacrifice. The mass is not intended to entertain us but to enrapture us. It is for our salvation.

God is love. God desires to share that perfect love. Through the death on the cross and through baptism, we are invited into that love in an intimate way.

The Second Half of the PrayerThe ‘R’ Father

* The Necessity of RELIANCE* The Intimacy of RECONCILIATION* The Need for REPENTANCE* Living in REALITY* Children in Need of RESCUE* Strengthening Our RESOLVE

Give us this day our daily bread / and forgive us our

trespasses / as we forgive those who trespass against us. / And lead us not into

temptation / but deliver us from evil. / Amen

*“Give us this day our daily bread” – The Necessity of RELIANCE

*“(and) forgive us our trespasses” – The

Intimacy of RECONCILIATION

*“as we forgive those who trespass against

us” – The need for REPENTANCE

*“(and) lead us not into temptation” – Living in

REALITY

*“(but) deliver us from evil” – he Children in Need of RESCUE

*“Amen” – Strengthening our

RESOLVE