by Sister Jackie Capelle
In his Gospel, Luke opens the door to Jesus' death and opens the doors to the death of the two men who also would die along side him. What a difference between these. Jesus' death is the highlight of his life. He is the King, there is no guilt in his life.
We stand before Jesus knowing he was not guilty in anyway. We stand before Jesus knowing he was an innocent King. Being King, He has all of us in his care. As King he is filled with goodness and we are also filled with that goodness.
As we offer you, O Lord, the sacrifice by which the human race
is reconciled to you, we humbly pray that your Son himself may
bestow on all nations the gifts of unity and peace. Through Christ
our Lord, Amen.
(2010 International Commission on English in the Liturgy
Corporation. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)
Chapter 36, US Catholic Catechism for Adults
by Sister Laura Zelten
In Luke 11:1-13, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray The Lord's Prayer (or "Our Father"). Jesus prayed every day to his heavenly Father, and he gave his followers a prayer that we continue to pray today. The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of prayers, containing all that we rightly desire before God. It is at the heart of every personal and communal prayer.
Our Church loves this prayer because it includes several different prayers. We honor and adore God when we say, "Hallowed be thy name." We pray for God's kingdom -- a kingdom of love and justice and peace to be realized in our world. We ask God for daily bread -- whatever we need both physically and spiritually to live faithfully this day. We ask God to forgive us -- but only as much as we are willing to forgive others. That's a challenging one! And we ask for God's help so that we aren't tempted to sin and turn away from him.
It's the perfect prayer!
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Church's "Year of Faith" concludes on Sunday, Nov. 24. We hope you've enjoyed this journey through the Study Guide of the US Catholic Catechism for Adults.
I have enjoyed reading your comments for the year of faith. Thank you, Laura.