March 4, 2020 Reflection – Our Father!
Our Father, who art in Heaven… (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 March 4, 2020St. Casimir Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children, your pure and sincere love draws my motherly heart. Your faith and trust in the Heavenly Father are fragrant roses which you offer to me-the most beautiful bouquets of roses which consist of your prayers, acts of mercy and of love…” (March 2, 2020) Our Lady is so overjoyed when she observes us living our lives in relation to the Heavenly Father. She is just ecstatic!! Isn’t it like a mother, to want her children to love their father? From the first moment, the mother shares the baby with its father. He is far less physically attached to the child than she is, but his love for the child is real and powerful. And so, she encourages the father to hold the baby, speak to him, comfort him, and attend to his needs. This bond is vital for the child. And so is our bond with our Heavenly Father equally vital. We need Him more that the air we breathe. But that relationship needs to be nurtured as well. And so, both Jesus and Mary have taught us about our Father, drawing us closer and closer to Him, through their human presence in our lives. They know Him and they want us to be so close to Him, so bonded to Him, that we can’t live without Him. The prayer that Jesus taught us offers us a way to bond with the Father, if we pray it very intentionally. I can see the beautiful bouquets of roses in this prayer! Our Father…Jesus invites us to call His Father, Our Father. He invites us into the family. He encourages us to approach the Father in an intimate way. We are wanted and loved. Who art in Heaven…The Father is near us, but we need the eyes to see Him. He is in Heaven. This earth where we live is created for us, as a place of gestation. We grow here in order to be ready to be birthed into Heaven. Very much like our earthly birth, it is after our birth into Heaven that we will see Our Father. Hallowed be Thy Name…Jesus always said the name of His Father with such love. He teaches us to understand how absolutely loving and lovable our Father is. To say His Name with love! Thy Kingdom come…Just as an earthly father has his own little domestic kingdom, the Heavenly Father has a Kingdom that cannot be matched. His Fatherly leadership will make our lives Heavenly. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven…The will of our Father in Heaven is all good, only good, and eternally good. His will makes our lives all joy, freedom and peace. This is the kind of Father we have. Give us this day our daily bread…We can look to our Heavenly Father for our sustenance. And if we take it day by day, we will have the peace that a child has when cared for by a wonderful father. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…With such a Father, forgiveness is constant and complete. Forgiveness is the most necessary part of our relationship with God the Father. Because we will fall, we will hurt others and ourselves, but through forgiveness, all can be made right. And lead us not into temptation… (some translations say “do not bring us to the test”) The Father may need to give us tests in order to make us stronger. But we can always ask for His help. We do want to mature and become strong. But only with the Father teaching us. But deliver us from evil…The Father sent us Jesus to do that. And Jesus did it all through the Cross. Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we should weep for joy, because the Father made a way for us to escape our enemy. Jesus, crucified, is our shield from all evil. Where are the roses? They are in the love. Each phrase of the Our Father shows us the Father’s love, and when we accept that love with pure hearts and return it, there are Roses!! May we live always in the Father’s love, the Father’s protection and care, the Father’s guidance and wisdom, the Father’s providence. Then Our Lady will be at peace for us, and she won’t have to worry so much for us!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2020