One prayer we know well speaks to today's opportunities
by Sister Sally Ann Brickner
Our Sacred Scriptures for this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time challenge us to live so that the deeds we do match the words we speak.
“Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in Heaven. Do not be called 'Master’; you have but one master, the Christ.” Matthew 23:8
Do we honor our one Father in heaven? Jesus taught us to pray to Our Father in words that call us to act so that God’s reign will come.
Our Father who is in heaven
and in all of us here on earth; the hungry, the oppressed, the excluded.
Holy is your name.
May Your reign come
May your reign come and your will be done;
in our choice to struggle with the complexities of this world
and to confront greed and the desire for power in ourselves,
in our nation and in the global community.
May Your reign come
Give us this day our daily bread;
bread that we are called to share,
bread that you have given us abundantly
and that we must distribute fairly, ensuring security for all.
May Your reign come
Forgive us our trespasses;
times we have turned away from the struggles
of other people and countries,
times we have thought only of our own security.
May Your reign come
Lead us not into temptation;
the temptation to close our minds, ears, and eyes
to the unfair global systems that create
larger and larger gaps between the rich and the poor;
the temptation to think it is too difficult
to bring about more just alternatives.
May your reign come
Deliver us from evil;
the evil of a world where violence happens in your name,
where wealth for a few is more important
than economic rights for all,
where gates and barriers between people
are so hard to bring down.
May Your reign come
May your reign come, for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever. AMEN!
Adapted by the Center of Concern in Washington, DC (closed in 2018)
Do we follow Jesus Christ as our Master and Teacher? If we do so we will see “a new heaven and a new earth” unfold before our very eyes!
“Swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4) so that brotherhood and sisterhood may flourish throughout the world – in Yemen, Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, Israel, Gaza, and all other war-torn countries.
"Jesus, who is the Way and the Truth and the Life," (John 14:6) will be our true compass showing us that “peace is the only way to peace” (A.J. Muste).
"Jesus, who reconciles all things to Himself in heaven on earth, making peace through the blood of His cross." (Colossians 1:20); like Jesus, we make peace by sacrificing our lives for others, never counting the cost.
May God’s reign come!
Thanks, Sally, for a very thoughtful way to pray the Our Father. Your reflection teaches us that we are all family. Follows well the Godpel from last week… let us love one another.