Today is March 11, Tuesday of the First Week of Lent.
At today’s Mass, we read: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mt 6:7-8).
Today, Jesus teaches us how to pray. While the Lord’s Prayer is familiar to all of us, the context that Jesus sets it in often escapes us. Coupling this passage with the first reading is especially powerful. God speaks of the word proceeding from his mouth: “It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Is 55:11).
The word of God does not return to him void. We have confidence that when we cry out to God as our Father, our prayer will reach his ears. He will answer it. Unlike the pagans, who babble and look for the right words to attract a certain deity, God himself gives us the words to use when we speak to him. While others may try different names and figure out who God is and what title he will answer to, we have the confidence of people who know who God is and how we relate to him: he is our Father.
Approaching God
The context of the Lord’s Prayer is confidence. We know who God is because he has told us who he is. It is because of this confidence that we can approach God, not as slaves or servants, but sons and daughters in Christ. We cry out to God knowing that he hears us and draws near to us in our need.
As we continue our Lenten journey, we continue to repent of our sins and acknowledge our weakness. But we do not do this wondering who is watching or who will hear us. We beat our breasts and pray with the confidence that belongs to the saints, calling out to heaven: Father!
Let us pray,
Look upon your family, Lord, that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline, our minds may be radiant in your presence with the strength of our yearning for you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
