March 11, 2025

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Lectionary 225

Matthew 6:7-15:

Meditation

What was one of the first prayers your parents taught you? Chances are that the sign of the cross was the Our Father. That prayer, said more or less accurately, was the launching pad of our communication with God. Prayer has since taken on many forms – vocal prayer, quiet prayer, sitting and thinking about God, conversation with God, and letting our being be awed by the beauty of creation.

No matter how we pray now, the fundamental element in all forms of prayer is that God is God, and we are not. Prayer is the creature standing before the Creator with open hands, ready to receive and surrender all. In the Our Father, Jesus explains our relationship with God.

At La Salette, Mary says, "I am compelled to pray without ceasing". She also invites Maximin and Melanie to prayer: "You must say your prayers well in the evening and the morning, even if you say only an Our Father and a Hail Mary when you can't do more. When you can do better, say more."