The most perfect and complete prayer that we have is the OUR FATHER. Many of our evangelical brothers criticize our prayer, because they say that we repeat prayers, they are not spontaneous, but I say to you, my brother, my sister: If you were to understand the prayer that Christ gave us, if you reflect on each word, and if principally you are living these “repeated words” we would not need any other prayer. Because here we encounter all that we need to be saints.

We do not have any thing else

We don’t have any more kings today. The important things is to explain from the catechism to our brothers and our children the “Government of God, may come to us.” Or maybe that all may allow that God govern your lives. All, because we should not pray as if we were the only person in the universe. The Our Father is in the plural, as all pronounced prayer for us should be not only for us, but for all.

What may be: The will of the Father is done, of God, and not our will, not the will of Satan, not the will of the assailant, not the selfish will of those that pretend to prejudge me, not the will of those that want to depart from  the road of truth and of life.

Give us this day our daily bread; And tomorrow? I am not going to eat? Tomorrow we are going to pray, grateful and asking anew. This is the procedure, because God counsels us to not worry about tomorrow. Therefore, we are going to ask only for bread today. Bread, here, does not mean only the bread from the bakery, but outside food—the health to work, the study that prepares us to earn money to buy bread, the employment that is so difficult today, etc.

Pardon our offenses, as we pardon those that offend us. I know. You fought with your neighbor that was being unjust with you and your family, bothering your quiet with noise at a late hour and you are finding yourself so guilty that you cannot receive communion at the next mass. When we are wronged, we need to address our rights. Because if all Christian remain nice without reclaiming any abuse from others, all is going to be approved by the people making us fools. However, after the storm always comes the calm, the peace. We remain attentive, that Jesus always drives us to make peace. You can receive communion if you have the intention of doing all you can in the future of reconciling yourself with your neighbor. Today is difficult, after such injustice, on his part and of such exchanges of truth from one side and from the others. In order remain in good, ask pardon does not always fit well. It will have the same effect, a joke, a few jokes from there and from here. Let your anger go. and then begin to open to reconciliation with your brother.

And do not allow us to fall into temptation, because there are a alot, there are thousands that surround us everyday, trying to take away our peace and friendship from God.

But deliver us from evil. Only such even in this life: Assaults, robberies, accidents, temptations, etc.

Here we have the freedom to call our creator FATHER, and only my Father, but Ours, that which brings us to unity with all our brothers and sisters throughout the world that also pray the OUR FATHER. Give us the name of God that should be respected (Hallowed by Your name) and we ask that Your Reign may enter us. We give your life, when we ask that the will of Him be done. In the middle of prayer, in the center, one more time, we treat God as Father, Who is responsible for our sustenance, our daily bread, but the Father? We show ourselves repentant, when we ask forgiveness for our sins, And We assume our weakness, when we seek the protection, the freedom from those evils that we cannot control.

However, I wonder, will it be that we will live in unity with our brothers and sisters? Will it be that we truly treat the name of God as it should be respected? And accepting the will of Him in our life if easy? We pardon our brothers in the measure in which we desire to be pardoned? And will it be that many times we don’t allow evil to enter our lives?

Father, free me from reducing to empty words, the prayer that Jesus taught us. That I may know how to experience the sense of the Our Father, centering my life on the divine sonship and in fraternity. Amen!

Fr. Padre Bantu Mendonça K. Sayla

Fr. Bantu writes from the Diocese of Benguela, Angola.

translated from Portuguese