DRE, Ibadan Archdiocese

Faith Series, Episode 122

THE OUR FATHER (The value of the Lord’s Prayer) – PART II

The LORD’S PRAYER is the “Our Father”. We know we can relate to God as Father because the Holy Spirit allows us to participate in the very personal relationship that the Son has with the Father.

Q2. How many petitions do we have?

As prayed by the Church, the Lord’s Prayer consists of SEVEN PETITIONS.

Q3. What do the first three petitions address?

The first three glorify the Father – the sanctification of His name, the advent of the kingdom, and the fulfillment of his will.

Q4. What do the last four petitions address?

The last four take our needs to this loving Father; requesting the nourishment we need to live, the healing of our sins and the victory in the battle of good over evil. CCC 2857

Q5. What is the meaning of each petition?

1. Our Father

Jesus invites us to call God our Father, to address the Almighty God intimately, securely and with childlike trust. Jesus teaches us that God is good, gracious and absolutely loving.

Jesus’ invitation to call God Father infers two very important truths.

First, God is a loving parent - Like little children, we should humbly trust our Father to care for our needs.

Second, God is our Father - We are God’s people, belonging to Him. We are invoking the new covenant in Jesus Christ and our communion with the Blessed Trinity.

‘OUR’ affirms that we are brothers and sisters to one another; every person is intimately related to us. If we believe what Jesus teaches us by this prayer, we will commit ourselves to understand, love and respond to everyone who comes into our lives.