How to Pray
Wednesday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Luke 11:1-4 - Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Yesterday we heard about the prayer of Mary of Bethany, and how Jesus honored her decision to pray—calling it the one necessary thing. St. Luke follows this story with today’s Gospel. Here, Jesus is praying, and the disciples ask Him to teach them to pray like Him. We, the readers, are supposed to see in these stories the importance Jesus gives to deep prayer, and, with the disciples, we are also meant to ask the question: “How do we do that?”
Jesus teaches the disciples what we now call the “Our Father” or the “Lord’s Prayer.” There is so much to be said about it, but one thing that first comes to mind is that Jesus is telling His disciples to bring their whole lives to God in prayer. Look at what is contained in the short lines of the “Lord’s Prayer”: praise, petition and contrition are all found therein. This prayer encompasses so much of what the human soul needs to express to God. It applies, in some way, to every part of our lives. We can understand from this that our whole lives can and should be filled with prayer. Consider the four types of prayer and see which ones are missing from our daily lives: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Petition.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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