Prayer is about building/growing in a communal relationship with God and others.
Matthew 6: 7 – 15
As we reflect on this passage of Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray, we remember that all prayer is relational. It is not about personal relationship with God but a relationship with the Trinity and with others. Prayer is about building/growing in a communal relationship with God and others.
It is by intention that Jesus begins this prayer with “Our” Father… and the entire prayer affirms ‘our relationship with God, with the people around us and with the world in general’. This deep beginning of the prayer acknowledges that I am, we all are children of God, we belong to God’s family. Therefore, our relationships here on earth must reflect those of the ideal family – the Holy family.
As we celebrate this year of St Joseph, I am reminded of my role as a father to my children and husband to my wife – to be an example of true love to them and be their guide and protector as Joseph was to Jesus and Mary. I pray that fathers will take up their responsibilities in our country to form their families into holy families – the domestic church.