Tuesday, October 28, 2008


SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #386

"Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen." (Matt. 6:9-13)

PRAYER IS AN ART which must be learnt and practiced. Our Lord teaches this by showing us 1. for what we are to pray, and 2. how we are to pray. Jesus tells us what we are to pray for, in the Our Father; and in the same prayer He partly tells us how we are to pray, for by the very first words He teaches us that we should pray to God with the confidence of children, while the fifth petition reminds us of our sins, and, therefore, warns us to pray with deep humility. By His exhortations, similes, and parables, our Lord urges us to pray 1. with perseverance; 2. with confidence; and 3. in common.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)



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