16 February 2016
Tuesday of the first week of Lent
Our Gospel recounts Jesus’ instruction on how to pray and then continues with a prayer which has come down to us known as the “Our Father.” Although we are all familiar with this prayer we may sometimes have forgotten the admonition that Jesus gives to us not to “babble on like the pagans.” Whatever this recommendation means we should take to heart that our prayer comes from our own hearts and moves to the heart of Christ. So often we may be lured into the latest trends in spiritual gymnastics, both physical and mental, and we find ourselves frustrated that we are not reaching those spiritual heights described by well published authors. The simplicity of the Our Father recalls the two fundamental goals of human existence, love of God and love of neighbor proclaimed by the prophets and reiterated by Jesus. Our prayer simply is a heart to heart conversation between our hearts and the heart of Christ. In our prayer, we hope that we may grow in love of God and by means of that love move towards a greater love of our neighbor.