Chotard Doll

Dear Friends,

The Luke passage for today is the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer we say so often that we tend to take it for granted. Congregations zip through it like a dose of medicine! I wish we could slow down and say one phrase at a time, to appreciate the fecundity of the words.

Although these words have been translated into many varying forms (sins-debts-transgressions), they contain some unvarying truths worthy of contemplation and exploration every time we repeat them. Of course there are lots of quotes from Jesus in the gospels, but these come in response to the disciples’ request for guidance on how to pray, and I’ll bet they preserved them carefully.

And when I take the time to say them with full attention, I feel like I am entering into a conversation with God. Jesus addressed them to the Father/Creator, and so do we.

What a gift to have the words of Jesus to teach us how to pray.

Faithfully,

—Chotard