Matthew 6:7-15
The Daily Office
What can be said about the Prayer of our Lord that could possibly be adequately expressed in a few short paragraphs? It’s not possible for me. But maybe a few sentences from the pre-WWII French philosopher Simone Weil (pronounced “Veigh”) might be adequate. Veil was a Jew who could never find herself worthy enough to be baptized. But her passionate devotion to Christ shines through in the excerpt from her essay on the Lord’s Prayer:
“In the first half of the prayer, we begin with acceptance. Then we allow ourselves a desire. Then we correct it by coming back to acceptance. In the second half, the order is changed; we finish by expressing desire. Only desire has now become negative; it is expressed as fear; therefore it corresponds to the highest degree of humility and that is a fitting way to end.
“The Our Father contains all possible petitions; we cannot conceive of any prayer not already contained in it. It is to prayer what Christ is to humanity. It is impossible to say it once through, giving the fullest possible attention to each word, without a change, infintesimal perhaps but real, taking place in our soul.”
Simone Weil, “Concerning the Our Father,” from Waiting for God.
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