2025/07/27 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Dominic Martin Reyes, Assistant Manager of Events & Ministry Engagement
Prayer is something that is different for everyone. Growing up in a well diverse community, I have seen many cultures, families, friends, and even individuals pray, and it is all beautifully unique and different. As an example, for me, prayer is intimate and raw. Because of that, my conversations with God have continued to be just that: conversation. A freeing of myself from world’s pressures and being vulnerable to God the Father. It is a need for God’s wisdom and strength and a want for his love and compassion, and for those qualities to embed in me the morals and truths that make me human.
Now you may be asking: why am I sharing this with you? Well, in the Gospel, a disciple tells Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus then proceeds to give us the words to the most universal prayer to Christians all over the world: The Our Father. Now, we all know the words to the prayer, however many people overlook the prayer as a template.
“Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” Jesus starts the prayer with praise to God the Father, the maker of all things. Veneration and thanks should come with prayer. We fully express His dominion over us and give honor to His kingdom. Jesus asks us to give praise and give thanks to God.
“Give us each day our daily bread.” We ask God to supplement us with daily bread. In hindsight, we are to believe He means the Eucharist but it so much more than that. We are asking God to supplement us with basic physical necessities and daily spiritual nourishment. It is also important to note the word “daily.” “Daily” is necessary to understand God’s mercy and grace. God does not wait for a week, a month, or a year to give us what we need. God offers it consistently, every day, every hour, every second in our lives. Jesus asks us to pray for God’s graces and mercies and openly receive them every day of our lives.
“and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.” We pray for forgiveness and recognize our faults to our creator. We also recognize that we must forgive others for their debts, or trespasses, so we ask God for the courage and strength to do so. In this statement, we also recognize that our fight with sin is a universal fight and that we all face sin individually. Inherently, we are praying to God for other humans around the world. Jesus asks us to pray for forgiveness and to essentially pray for others and their forgiveness.
“and do not subject us to the final test.” In more modern terms, “lead us not into temptation.” We ask God for protection from evil and to be strong in our faith. We pray that not just ourselves, but everyone do not stray away from Him and to follow Him. Jesus asks us to pray for strength and grace, the things needed to lead us away from sinning.
Through these words, Jesus tells us prayer consists of these main points: praise and adoration, thanksgiving, petition, intercession, and blessing. As we continue to mold our prayer to us, let use be reminded that Jesus gave us a template in the form of the most universal prayer of all time.