LEARNING FOCUS 4: The Our Father.

CONTENT

The Communion Rite focuses on peace, unity and forgiveness.  The Christian family comes to the Lord’s table united in love of Jesus and of one another.   They pray the ‘Our Father’ between the Eucharistic prayer and the giving of Holy Communion.  It sums up everyone’s prayers and hopes.  It is addressed to ‘Our Father’, not ‘my Father’, so uniting the family of God into the love of the Father.  It was the prayer that Jesus himself gave us.

The disciples asked Jesus for help to pray and he gave them this prayer.  It is the prayer which unities all Christians, whatever their denomination.

“Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your 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 have forgiven our debtors.

And do not bring us to the time of trial,

but rescue us from the evil one.

For if you forgive others their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

but if you do not forgive others,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:9-15

This version of the prayer is different from the one used at Mass.  Go through the words highlighting those which are more unusual and discuss their meaning.  Notice the structure of the prayer:

• The first part is addressed to God: honouring and longing for the coming of God.
• The second part asks for our needs: food, forgiveness, avoidance of difficulty.
• The last part applies to our daily lives: forgiving others.

SOME KEY QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think the Christian family says this prayer before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion?
2. What challenges you most in the prayer and why?
3. What is Jesus teaching his followers: to give to God and to one another?

Your task:

Design and illustrate a bookmark/poster/picture with some or all of the words of the Our Father.