The Lord’s Prayer leads us safely to our heavenly home

Article 182 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series

Paragraphs 2803-2806

I recall reading several years ago the account of a pilot who became disoriented in the fog near Fairbanks, Alaska in 1949. Coupled with this, his radio went dead, and his fuel began running low. Through his headphones, the pilot could hear a voice speaking: “Keep talking, Captain; say anything that comes to mind…Just keep talking.” It was the ground operator at a nearby airport who came up with a plan. He decided that he could zero in on the pilot’s voice with a radio beam and pinpoint the position of the airplane. Then he could communicate the position of the lost plane with regard to the airport to the pilot. Immediately the pilot began to speak the first words that came to mind, which he repeated again and again. Soon after, through the clouds, he could see land and then the airport. After landing safely, he shook the hand of the ground operator who smiled and said: “Sir, I had no doubt that you would make it when I heard your voice so strongly, saying over and over again the Lord’s Prayer.” The lone pilot preferred to speak the words of the most beautiful prayer ever composed. Thankfully, with the help of this prayer given by Jesus, he was able to guide his plane through the dense fog and land safely.

Whether we pray the Lord’s Prayer as members of Christ’s Church at Holy Mass during the “Rite of Communion,” during the recitation of the Holy Rosary, or in the privacy of our own homes, we place ourselves “in the presence of God our Father to adore and to love and to bless Him” (ccc 2803). During the prayer “the Spirit of adoption stirs up in our hearts seven petitions, seven blessings” (ccc 2803).

The first three petitions are described in the Catechism as “more theological” (ccc 2803). These include: 1. Hallowed be Thy name, 2. Thy Kingdom come, and 3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. These petitions “draw us toward the glory of the Father” (ccc 2803). They carry us “toward Him, for His own sake: Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will! It is characteristic of love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of these three petitions do we mention ourselves” (ccc 2804). In fact, “the burning desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for His Father’s glory seizes us: hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done…” (ccc 2804). These three appeals were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. “They are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all” (ccc 2804).

The last four petitions are: 1. Give us this day our daily bread, 2. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, 3. Lead us not into temptation, and 4. Deliver us from evil. These last petitions “commend our wretchedness to His grace” (ccc 2803). As well, they remind us of the various “Eucharistic epicleses” (ccc 2805). What does “epicleses” mean? In the Eucharistic Prayers of various liturgies, this refers to the invocation of the Holy Spirit or the calling of the Holy Spirit by the priest upon the gifts of bread or wine and offering them so they may become the Body and Blood of Christ.

Regarding the last four petitions of the Our Father, this refers to the “offering up of our expectations, that draws down upon itself the eyes of the Father of mercies” (ccc 2805). In the words of the Catechism, “they go up from us and concern us from this very moment, in our present world: ‘give us…forgive us…lead us not…deliver us’” (ccc 2805). Notice how these fourth and fifth petitions of the Lord’s Prayer “concern our life as such – to be fed and to be healed of sin,” while these final two petitions “concern our battle for the victory of life – that battle of prayer” (ccc 2805).

In summary, by the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, “we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope, and set aflame by charity” (ccc 2806). By the final four petitions, we surrender ourselves to the justice and mercy of God.

Recall that when He lived among us in the flesh, Jesus was critical of those who followed only the laws of God that they liked. In truth, our salvation depends on keeping all of God’s Commandments. We have heard people say that God will forgive some great sin and be gracious to us because we generally keep His law, even though we fall short of it by committing, or planning to commit, some future sin of impurity or hatred or drunkenness or dishonesty or unkindness. But, we need to remember the words of St. James in Sacred Scripture: “For whoever keeps the whole law, but offends in one point, has become guilty in all” (James 2:10).

Jesus likewise critiqued those who were outwardly wholesome, but inwardly sinful. For example, in our own day, there are those who participate in Sunday Mass and receive the sacraments but are full of ambition and even hypocrisy. Why would such people follow religious practices at all? Is it for the greater honor and glory of God? How about us? Are our hearts far from Him? “Being creatures and still sinners, we have to petition for us [in the Lord’s Prayer] … through the name of His Christ and the reign of His Holy Spirit, [that] our Father accomplishes His plan of salvation, for us and for the whole world” (ccc 2806).

Like the lone pilot in Alaska so many years ago, we pray that we, too, by living the Lord’s Prayer, might be guided through the darkness of sin and death and led safely to our eternal home in Heaven.

Father Hillier is director, diocesan Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Luborum.