Pater qui est in caelis

The prominent feature of today’s Gospel is the Our Father, the Lord’s prayer, and the very first word of the prayer in Greek is “Father” (as it is in Latin: Pater).

For some people, this opens up a whole set of issues, because their personal experience of “father” was not a good one: their earthly fathers were abusive, emotionally distant, totally absent, etc.

Such experiences are tragic and those who suffer them need protection and healing, but this prayer is not about our earthly fathers: it is about our Father who is in heaven (Pater qui est in caelis).

If our personal experience of “father” was a good one, that’s wonderful, but no matter how great our dads may have been, they were at best a weak echo of the incredible goodness and love that our Father in heaven has for us.

And if our personal experience of “father” was not a good one, what wonders are in store for us, for we can experience in God the Father we never had, the special sweetness of his love – greater and more intense than any earthly father could ever give his daughter or son.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.