Matthew 6.7-15

In this Lent, today the evangelist Matthew speaks to us about the Lord's Prayer taught by Jesus to His disciples, with an emphasis on the forgiveness of sins.

The context is the presentation of almsgiving, prayer and fasting as good practices taught by Jesus - precisely the text proclaimed at the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday.

Prayer is one of the commitments we have made in preparation for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection, Easter.

As we know, to pray is to dialogue with God, listening to Him and speaking to Him. We must do so enlightened by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures, with the trust and intimacy of a child with his father. To pray is to open our hearts to God, presenting our needs to Him, aware that He knows, hears and sees everything, even before we speak to Him. Let us remember to praise and thank Him, because God always gives us much more than we ask or deserve.

Let our prayer be personal, but also family and community prayer. May our day be filled with prayer: at home, at work, wherever we are. A prayer that contemplates creation, the events of everyday life. A prayer in solidarity with the needs of the poor and the people, for justice and peace in the world.

Without a doubt, Holy Mass is the most perfect prayer that exists. Let us organize ourselves to participate in it every Sunday and on feast days.

The Lord's Prayer was prayed by Jesus Himself. He taught what He did. It is a precious jewel that we have received as an inheritance. Let us value the Lord's Prayer. Let us pray this prayer every day, with devotion, slowly, savoring the words, not mechanically, just by mouthing them, like robots.

The Lord's Prayer has two parts. In the first part, we turn to God and ask that His Name be sanctified, that His Kingdom come to us and that His Will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven. And in the second part, we turn to ourselves, legitimately asking for our daily bread, forgiveness of sins (committing ourselves to forgive others as well), help in temptation and deliverance from all evil.

Jesus emphasized the need to know how to forgive others in order to have the right to receive forgiveness from our Father for our faults.

This Lent, let us seriously resume our life of prayer, strengthening our spirituality.

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

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