One day, while complaining to my dad about how a friend treated me, my dad responded, “Do you pray the Our Father?” I said, “Yes, of course.” He asked, “How does it go?” Thinking my dad had lost some of his mind, I began reciting the prayer Jesus taught us in today’s Gospel reading.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name…” When I got to the phrase, “as we forgive those who trespass against us,” My dad told me to repeat that phrase, so I started the sentence over feeling like a child rather than a mother of teens. He stopped me again at the end of that phrase and asked if I believed this prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what he was saying.
When we pray the Our Father, we ask God to forgive us like we forgive others. Wow. I needed that reminder. His frustrating but enlightening scolding caused me to stop and seriously reflect. How many times have I prayed the Our Father without thinking about whether or not I’m living out the words that I profess to believe.
I’d love to tell you that in the years following that exchange, I haven’t had any problems forgiving others, but this conversation with my dad has reoccurred multiple times in the years since. I’ll start complaining, and he says, “What’s that prayer Jesus taught us?” “Daaadd!” I exclaim like a petulant teenager.
But I’m now at the point where I hear my dad’s voice in my head, reminding me of those words: “…as we forgive those who trespass against us…” They remind me that God shows me mercy and forgiveness time and time again, and He is calling me to do the same to others. For assistance, I pray, “Lord, when I pray the words of the Our Father, I ask that you help me take them to heart and to live them in my daily life, especially when I find it difficult to forgive others the way you repeatedly forgive me. Amen.”
When you find it difficult to forgive, do the words of the Lord’s Prayer remind you of God’s mercy and forgiveness and that we are called to offer it to others?
Un día, mientras me quejaba con mi papá sobre cómo me trataba una amiga, mi papá me respondió: “¿Rezas el Padrenuestro?” Le dije, “sí, claro”. Me preguntó, “¿y cómo va?” Pensando que mi papá se había vuelto loco, comencé a recitar la oración que Jesús nos enseñó en el Evangelio de hoy.
“Padre nuestro, que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre…”. Cuando llegué a la frase “como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden”, mi papá me dijo que la repitiera, así que empecé a recitar la frase sintiéndome como una niña en lugar de como una mamá de adolescentes. Me interrumpió de nuevo al final de la frase y me preguntó si creía en esta oración que Jesús nos había enseñado en Mateo 6. Me demoré unos segundos entender lo que me estaba intentando decir.
Cuando rezamos el Padrenuestro, le pedimos a Dios que nos perdone como perdonamos a los demás. ¡Guau! Necesitaba ese recordatorio. Su regaño, frustrante pero esclarecedor, me hizo detenerme y reflexionar seriamente. ¿Cuántas veces he rezado el Padrenuestro sin pensar si estoy viviendo las palabras que profeso creer?
Me encantaría decirles que, en los años posteriores a ese intercambio, no he tenido ningún problema en perdonar a los demás, pero esta conversación con mi papá se ha repetido varias veces desde entonces. Empiezo a quejarme, y me dice: “¿Cuál es esa oración que nos enseñó Jesús?” “¡Papaaaá!”, le exclamo como una adolescente petulante.
Pero ahora escucho la voz de mi papá en mi cabeza, recordándome de esas palabras: “…como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden…”. Me recuerdan que Dios me muestra misericordia y perdón una y otra vez, y me llama a hacer lo mismo con los demás. Para pedir ayuda, le pido: “Señor, cuando rezo el Padrenuestro, te pido que me ayudes a tomarlo en serio y a vivirlo en mi vida diaria, especialmente cuando me resulta difícil perdonar a los demás como tú me perdonas repetidamente. Amén”.
Cuando te resulta difícil perdonar, ¿las palabras del Padrenuestro te recuerdan de la misericordia y el perdón de Dios y que estamos llamados a ofrecerlos a los demás?
Lisa Henley Jones is a wife, mom, and native Texan. Her life is influenced by her Catholic faith and she shares it through writing and on her podcast, Of Sound Mind and Spirit, together with her sister, Shelly Kelly. For fun, Lisa enjoys reading, walking, dating her husband, and wearing the college colors of her young adult kids.
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