Tuesday of the First Week of Lent ‘c’

Matthew 6:7-15

Today Jesus teaches us how to pray. He teaches us the most beautiful prayer which we call the Lord’s Prayer, and we repeat it all the time. We know many beautiful prayers and some of them became our favorites. However, there is no more beautiful prayer than the ‘Our Father’ because this one was given to us by the Son of God. What really surprises me in this gospel passage is what Jesus said before He even prayed the Our Father. He reminds us that the prayer is not about quantity, but about quality. Jesus said: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them.Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” So, perhaps you were so busy the other day that you were not able to say all the prayers you usually say each day. Don’t worry. God knows them all, and God knows what you need. We must pray, we must talk and listen to God. But one ‘Our Father’ said with understanding and attention is far better that many other prayers that we rush through and don’t even pay attention what we are saying. ‘Do not babble like the pagans’.