Jesus reveals to the Apostles and all of us, “How you are to pray.” (Matt 6:9) He follows with the words which have come to be known as the Our Father, also referred to as the Lord’s Prayer.
This simple yet profound prayer that most of those reading this article can recite by heart. Yet, how often do we pray it? I mean, really, heartfully PRAY it? When we recount the words and the teachings Jesus imparts within the prose, how often do we marvel at the reality that this is not only from Jesus but was the formula for how Jesus himself prayed to God?
How many of us are asking Jesus to teach us how to pray better, grow closer to God, and be more faithful to His teachings? Bottom line, how many of us are asking “how can I be holier?”
I have a confession: I resisted praying the Our Father and even the Hail Mary in my prayer time for many years. I felt they were rote, boring, insincere prayers taught to me as a child, but now as a ‘mature’ adult, I was perfectly capable of fashioning my prayers. I even avoided praying the Rosary because I had convinced myself that memorized prayer had very little value. Unfamiliar at the time with Scripture, I never realized the magnificent origin of this prayer or the actual value it held within.
The commonality of this thought process regarding our childhood prayers was made apparent during my first women’s retreat. After much prayer and consideration, I decided to begin the event with the Rosary. It was on a Saturday, so I created a PowerPoint of the prayers and added vivid, colorful, gorgeous art depicting each of the Joyful mysteries. Everyone got settled in; I welcomed them to the “Seeking the Peace of Forgiveness” retreat, turned down the lights, opened the PowerPoint, and jumped right into the recitation of the Rosary. During the lunch break, one of the attendees pulled me aside and said, “I almost bolted for the door when you began the Rosary. I cannot think of a more boring way to pray. Yet, as the images showed and you offered reflections for each, I am glad I stayed; however, you may want to rethink using that in the future.”
I did rethink it, but I did not remove it. Instead, going forward, after welcoming guests, I spend time explaining why I chose to begin every program by praying the Rosary together—sharing my a-ha moment of discovering the scriptural foundation of the Rosary’s prayers, especially the Lord’s Prayer.
What remarkable benefits accompany time spent with the prayers we know so well that we can repeat them while simultaneously allowing us to ponder the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? Not only while praying the Rosary but anytime we invoke the words Jesus himself taught us. Challenge yourself to linger at each word, asking the Holy Spirit to bring you ever closer to the Father as you say, “Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name…”
Jesús revela a los Apóstoles y a todos nosotros, “Ustedes pues, oren así.” (Mateo 6,9) Continúa con las palabras que se conocen como el Padrenuestro, también conocido como la oración del Señor.
Esta oración simple pero profunda que la mayoría de los que leen este artículo pueden recitar de memoria. Sin embargo, ¿con qué frecuencia lo rezamos? Quiero decir, realmente, de todo corazón REZARlo. Cuando contamos las palabras y las enseñanzas que Jesús imparte en prosa, ¿con qué frecuencia nos maravillamos de la realidad de que esto no es solo de Jesús sino que fue la fórmula de cómo Jesús mismo oró a Dios?
¿Cuántos de nosotros le estamos pidiendo a Jesús que nos enseñe cómo orar mejor, acercarnos más a Dios y ser más fieles a sus enseñanzas? En pocas palabras, ¿cuántos de nosotros nos preguntamos “¿cómo puedo ser más santo?”
Tengo una confesión: me resistí a rezar el Padre Nuestro e incluso el Ave María en mi tiempo de oración durante muchos años. Sentí que eran oraciones rutinarias, aburridas y poco sinceras que me enseñaron cuando era niño, pero ahora, como un adulto “maduro”, era perfectamente capaz de moldear mis propias oraciones. Incluso evité rezar el Rosario porque me había convencido de que la oración memorizada tenía muy poco valor. Sin estar familiarizado en ese momento con las Escrituras, nunca me di cuenta del magnífico origen de esta oración o el valor real que contenía.
La similitud de este proceso de pensamiento con respecto a nuestras oraciones de la infancia se hizo evidente durante mi primer retiro de mujeres. Después de mucha oración y consideración, decidí comenzar el evento con el Rosario. Fue un sábado, así que creé un PowerPoint de las oraciones y agregué un arte vívido, colorido y hermoso que representaba cada uno de los Misterios Gozosos. Todos se acomodaron; Les di la bienvenida al retiro llamado “Buscando la Paz del Perdón”, apagué las luces, abrí el PowerPoint y empezamos directamente con la recitación del Rosario. Durante la pausa para el almuerzo, uno de los asistentes me hizo a un lado y dijo: “Casi salgo disparado hacia la puerta cuando comenzaste con el Rosario. No puedo pensar en una forma más aburrida de orar. Sin embargo, como mostraste las imágenes y ofreciste reflexiones para cada una, me alegro de haberme quedado; sin embargo, es posible que desee reconsiderar eso en el futuro”.
Sí lo reconsideré, pero no lo eliminé. En cambio, después de dar la bienvenida a los invitados, pasaba tiempo explicando por qué elegí comenzar cada programa rezando el Rosario juntos, compartiendo mi momento iluminador de descubrir el fundamento bíblico de las oraciones del Rosario, especialmente el Padrenuestro.
¿Qué notables beneficios acompañan el tiempo que dedicamos a las oraciones que conocemos tan bien que podemos repetirlas y, al mismo tiempo, permitirnos reflexionar sobre la vida, la muerte y la resurrección de Jesús? No solo mientras rezamos el Rosario sino cada vez que invocamos las palabras que el mismo Jesús nos enseñó. Desafíate a ti mismo a detenerte en cada palabra, pidiéndole al Espíritu Santo que te acerque cada vez más al Padre mientras dices: “Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre…”
Allison Gingras ( www.ReconciledToYou.com ) — Shares her love of the Catholic Faith with stories, laughter, and honesty as experienced in the ordinary of life! Her writing includes Encountering Signs of Faith (Ave Maria Press) and the Stay Connected Journals for Women (OSV). Allison is a Catholic Digital Media Specialist for Family Rosary, Catholic Mom, and the Fall River Diocese. She hosts A Seeking Heart podcast and is co-host of the Catholic Momcast podcast.Feature Image Credit: Amor Santo, cathopic.com/photo/7752-encounter
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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and seven grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is 
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