Article #2 - Seventh Series - November 20th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

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Article #2 -  Seventh Series - November 20th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

Article:
I had a class with a professor who once said, “The Catholic Church demands that we focus on prepositions and pronouns.” Consider the most common prayer, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In. Of. Of. Of. 

Many people often skip over the prepositions and say, “Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Amen.” The prepositions matter and they help to direct our minds and hearts into the profound mystery of God.

Like prepositions, pronouns are also extremely important. For example, consider the Gospel passage in which Jesus says, “This is how you are to pray.” Jesus then gives us the “Our Father” prayer. Listen to the pronouns in this prayer: Our, thy, thy, thy, us, our, us, our, we, us, us, us. 

Notice that one does not hear: me, myself, or I. The prayer takes a humble and charitable position outside of one’s ego and is directed toward others. One is not praying solely for oneself. 

Now, there are moments when I pray, “Lord, give me the courage to do your will today” or “Lord, work through me that I may preach your Gospel worthily and well.” There is nothing wrong with these, but prayer should eventually extend beyond one’s self. It ought to enter into the realm of we, us, and our. Prayer should be directed on behalf of the Church and all of humanity. 

Jesus is constantly challenging His followers to get out of themselves. He does not want followers who remain cramped in their tiny egos and caved in on themselves. It’s one thing to pray, “Lord, give me the courage to do your will today” but it’s a different matter to pray, “Lord, give the Church and those who try to follow you the courage to do your will today.” The “Our Father” prayer challenges us to step outside of the self and out toward others. 

The most important pronoun in the Our Father is “thy.” This pronoun is directed to God the Father. The pronoun indicates profound respect and reverence for the Father. It also reflects a personal and intimate prayer to Him. In other words, Jesus shows us how to pray as He does with God the Father. 

In fact, the Gospel narrative is wrapped in the “Our Father” prayer. We encounter the Son’s profound relationship with the Father, His desire for the Father’s will to be done, for humanity to receive the daily bread, for forgiveness to be extended and offered, and for humanity to be guided toward the Father and away from temptation and evil. 

All of Jesus’s miracles, teachings, actions, words, gestures, mission, sacrifice, etc. that we encounter in the Gospels flow from His relationship with the Father. Let me be clear: when Jesus says “This is how you are to pray,” He is welcoming us into His profound relationship with God the Father. 

Authentic prayer always takes us beyond ourselves and out toward others while being intimately and personally focused on God. It’s a unique, delicate, and powerful balance. It’s a grace.

I challenge you to notice your prayers with God. What pronouns are you using? Is it a fair amount of me, mine, I, myself? Does it eventually enter into the realm of us, we, our? 

The “Our Father” is not some old, worn-out prayer. Instead, it is precisely what we need in our world today. The prayer comes from Jesus Christ. He does not say, “Consider this approach, I’ve come to like it but I could see it lose meaning over the years.” Instead, Jesus says, “This is how you are to pray.” 

And, it would serve us well to listen to the Virgin Mary who said, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). May we enter into this “Our Father” prayer and allow the pronouns to direct us to the Father and to His people.
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Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.