
In today's
Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, giving them the words of the Lord's Prayer. Read below for a refection from Father Barron on prayer from his book,
Word on Fire. You can also listen to his
homily regarding this particular Bible passage.
“How should we pray? What makes prayer efficacious? Why does it seem that some prayers are answered and others are not? How does prayer 'work'? These are questions that come, not simply from theoreticians of religion, but from religious people, ordinary believers. Studies indicate that we are a nation of pray-ers, yet we struggle rather mightily with the mechanics, meaning, and practicalities of prayer. The Bible, or course, witnesses constantly to the centrality of prayer. What binds together figures as diverse as Noah, Moses, Jacob, Abraham, Jeremiah, Daniel, King Hezekiah, Queen Esther, Peter, and Paul is that they all pray—and not provisionally, occasionally, or perfunctorily, but consistently and as an expression of their deepest selves. And, of course, Jesus prays and famously teaches his disciples to pray…"