Journeying with the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)

The Our Father is perhaps the most familiar of the Christian prayers, the prayer given to us by Jesus himself. As the Lord’s own prayer, it holds immense riches in its seemingly simple invocations.

In the preface of Dr. Lombardi’s book 'On Earth as it is in Heaven,’ Jubilee Edition 2023, we find the following statement:
“On February 11, 2022, Pope Francis announced preparations for an upcoming Jubilee Year to be celebrated in 2025, with the motto ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ In his letter to Archbishop Salvatore Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelization, for the Jubilee of 2025, he requested a preparatory year to take place in 2024, focusing on the need for prayer, especially reflection on the Lord’s Prayer: ‘In a word, may it be an intense year of prayer in which hearts are opened to receive the outpouring of God’s grace and to make the “Our Father,” the prayer Jesus taught us, the life programme of each of his disciples.’”

As a contribution to this prayerful call to action, the Advent Retreat at St. Augustine’s Seminary focused on the rich spiritual insight of the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father). In this retreat, Dr. Lombardi walked us through the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, showing us how the fulfillment of the petitions helps us to prepare and wait during the Advent season.