Embedded Files
The Lord's Prayer: The Our Father
Topic 6: I Need [1]
Behind YOUCAT
Do you remember the movie What About Bob? If you’ve never seen it, it’s hilarious. In one unforgettable scene Bob Wiley follows his therapist Leo Marvin to New Hampshire, where Dr. Marvin and his family are on vacation, and in the middle of the resort village street Bob begs the good doctor to see him: “I need, I need, I need, gimme, gimme, gimme!!!” Fortunately, there’s no need for us to beg the divine physician. He knows our needs. But he does want us to ask for what we need—not for his sake but for ours. And he has even taught us how to ask.
Read YOUCAT
Read the content under YOUCAT# 514, and 522~527 (numbers in yellow circle) from YOUCAT p.281~p.287. [2]
What Does YOUCAT Say?
When we ask for “our daily bread” in the Our Father what all are we asking for (YOUCAT#522~523 and p.285, margin)?
How are the mercy we seek and the mercy we show others inseparable (YOUCAT#524)?
What do we mean when we ask the Lord to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (YOUCAT#525~526)?
What happens when a person says “Amen” to his prayer, especially the Our Father (YOUCAT#527)?
Answer the above questions [Click Here]
YOU Reflect
When something seems so right, so perfect, people often shout, “Yes!” “Amen!” means “Yes!” or “So be it!” It makes sense that we would say “Amen!” to conclude our prayer. It’s a way of making a firm commitment to the truth of what we have just prayed. In a way, our whole life should be a prayer—a gift given to God. At the end of life, we want to have lived in such a way as to be able to say “Amen!” to all that has happened. We want to have confident hope in God and our destiny with him.
Try to remember the best day of your life. Picture it. Relive it in your memory. Now multiply the joy infinitely and the time eternally. That’s the life our Father has prepared for us. Amen!
Have you ever heard something in church or read something connected with your faith that made you want to say “Amen!”? How is that different from just giving the expected response at the end of a prayer?
Why do you suppose young people are sometimes bashful about giving the responses at Mass? What can they do to overcome their bashfulness?
Answer the above questions [Click Here]
What Does the Bible Say?
Read 1 Timothy 2:4. What does St. Paul say that God desires for everyone?
Read Luke 6:36 and 1 John 4:20. Explain how Luke 6:36 and 1 John 4:20 help us understand love, mercy, forgiveness, and God the Father.
Read 1 John 5:19. In St. John’s first Letter (1 John 5:19) to whom does he say we belong? Under whose power and rule is this world for the time being?
Answer the above questions [Click Here]
YOU Chat
Jesus taught his disciples only one prayer, the Our Father. Why do you think our Lord only taught this one prayer?
St. Thomas Aquinas calls the Our Father “the most perfect prayer” (YOUCAT#514). Give some reasons why this prayer is considered "perfect".
Do you think it is wrong to ask God for things when we pray? Why or why not?
Answer the above questions [Click Here]
YOU Challenge
Think and Forgive:
Each day take five minutes to think of those you have hurt and ask God to forgive you, and think of those who have hurt you and, no matter how you feel about them, choose to forgive them and ask God to bring his good into their lives.
Go:
Attend Holy Mass on Sunday, and as you pray with all the congregation the Our Father, think of our family unity with all gathered there and all our brothers and sisters everywhere in the world, in purgatory, and in heaven.
References / Citations
[1] Brumley, Mark, Kersting, Jack, and George, Paul . YOUCAT Study Guide. San Francisco, Calif: Ignatius Press, 2013, pp. 77-78.
[2] Miller, Michael J, and Benedict. Youcat English: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. San Francisco, Calif: Ignatius Press, 2011.
[3] BibleGateway (online bible). https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Good-News-Translation-GNT-Bible/
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