What happens when we truly pray the Our Father, not only with our lips but also with our hearts? Luciano Audisio invites us to enter into the prayer of Jesus as a path of transformation, communion and filial trust.
The heart of the Christian life
This Sunday’s Gospel takes us to the very heart of the Christian life: prayer. And not just any prayer, but that which Jesus himself taught us. As we open our lips to say the Lord’s Prayer, we participate in his own relationship with the Father. It is not simply a matter of repeating words, but of entering into the mystery of a God who is communion, presence and love.
Taught by the Master
The disciples, seeing Jesus pray, could not help but ask him, “Lord, teach us to pray”(κύριε, δίδαξον ἡμᾶς προσεύχεσθαι). Already this reveals to us something essential: prayer is not improvised, it is learned. And it is learned by looking at Jesus, by listening to him, by allowing oneself to be attracted by his way of relating to the Father.
Father: the word that sums up the Gospel
Jesus begins with a word that condenses his whole life: Father. Just that one. If we had to keep only one word of this prayer, it would be that one. Calling God “Father” is not a pious formula, it is a declaration of trust, closeness and vulnerability.
Many carry wounds linked to the paternal image. Jesus comes to heal these broken images and to reveal to us the face of the Father who does not fail, who does not hurt, who always waits.
Hallowed be thy name
“Hallowed be thy name“(ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου). To sanctify is to recognize that God is distinct, completely other. In Hebrew, qadosh means that which cannot be tampered with. In an age saturated with “I”-centered spiritualities, this phrase reminds us of something fundamental: we are not God. To pray is to open oneself to the Mystery, to Someone I do not control, but in whom I can trust.
Thy Kingdom come
“Thy Kingdom come“(ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου). That Kingdom is neither a political system nor a future promise. It is Jesus himself. Where He is, there God reigns. Where there is compassion, truth, justice, there the Kingdom is coming.
Give us today our bread
“Give us this day our daily bread“(τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθ’ ἡμέραν). The Greek word epiúsios does not allude only to material bread, but to a bread that nourishes the soul. The early Christians saw here a reference to the Eucharistthe living Bread which is Christ.
This bread does not accumulate. It is receivedis shared. Thus we remember that life is a gift, not a conquest.
Forgive us… as we forgive
“Forgive us our sins“(ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν). Here we touch the core of the Gospel. Forgiveness is not simply a divine response: it is a person. Jesus is forgiveness incarnate. In him, the distance between God and humanity has been abolished.
Therefore, we add: “…as we forgive“(καθὼς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίομεν…). He who has been forgiven, cannot refuse to forgive.
Do not let us fall into temptation
“Lead us not into temptation“(καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν). Temptation is part of the human condition. Jesus himself went through it. But he was not alone: the Father sustained him.
Here we do not ask to avoid all trials, but not to be alone in it. May we not lack his presence, his word, his strength.
The Lord’s Prayer: a prayer that shapes us
The Lord’s Prayer is not just a prayer. It is a school of faitha path of transformation. It is the portrait of Jesus, and the form our life should take.
Every time we pray it with our hearts, we enter into communion between the Son and the Father. And we let the Spirit conform us to Christ.
Today, as we repeat these words, let us not do so by rote, but as one who breathes. For this prayer not only says things about God: it changes us inside.
It makes us children, brothers and sisters, bread shared, witnesses to the Kingdom.