BLESSED FRANCIS XAVIER SEELOS, PRIEST (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Teach us to pray.

The disciple’s request wasn’t so unusual. Traditionally, followers of a rabbi would ask him to teach them to pray. It was only natural for a student to want to imitate his teacher’s relationship with God.

What was unusual was Jesus’ response. When they prayed, he said, the disciples were to address God as their Father! Not as Lord or Creator or Almighty—although all of these are true—but as Father. Without diminishing God in any way, Jesus tells the disciples, and us, to approach God in prayer with the confidence and trust of a beloved child.

In the ancient world, very few rabbis would have dared to refer to God as Father. Yes, they acknowledged him as creator and father of all peoples. But calling God your own Father was quite bold. As Pope Francis explained, daring to speak to the all-holy God as children speak to a loving father is the “great revolution” introduced by Christianity (General Audience, June 7, 2017).

Father: it’s a new way of relating to God, a new way of appreciating what it means to be part of his people. And it’s a new way of understanding God himself. Jesus shows us that his Father—our Father—always loves us and always welcomes us. He always stands ready to receive us as beloved members of his family.

Take a moment to let that sink in. God is almighty, but he’s not like a stern taskmaster demanding subservience. He is righteous, but he is not like a harsh judge looking to punish even the smallest slip-up. He is holy, but he’s not like a lofty monarch looking down on you or holding himself aloof from you. He is your Father.

God opens the door and invites you to be with him and to pour out your heart to him. Does it take a measure of courage? Yes. But Jesus himself accompanies you to the Father’s throne and calls you his brother or sister. And so, as the priest reminds us at every Mass, “At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say . . .

Our Father.”

“Father, thank you for inviting me to come to you as your beloved child!”

Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14
Psalm 117:1-2
Luke 11:1-4