YOUTCAT contents for At-Home Lesson#6

YOUCAT# 514, and 522~527 + p.285 margin [1]

YOUCAT#514 What position does the Our Father hold among prayers?

The Our Father is “the most perfect prayer” (St. Thomas Aquinas) and the “summary of the whole Gospel” (Tertullian). [2761,2762-2764,2765-2766,2767-2772, 2774, 2776]

The Our Father is more than a prayer—it is a path that leads directly into the heart of our Father. The early Christians recited this original prayer of the Church, which is entrusted to every Christian at Baptism, three times a day. We, too, should not let a day pass without trying to recite the Lord’s Prayer with our lips, to take it to heart, and to make it come true in our lives.

YOUCAT#522 What does it mean to say, “Give us this day our daily bread”?

The petition about our daily bread makes us people who await everything from the goodness of our heavenly Father, including the material and spiritual goods that are vitally necessary. No Christian can pronounce this petition without thinking about his real responsibility for those in the world who lack the basic necessities of life. [2828-2834, 2861]

YOUCAT#523 Why does man not live on bread alone?

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4, citing Deut 8:3). [2835]

This passage of Scripture reminds us that men have a spiritual hunger that cannot be satisfied by material means. One can die for lack of bread, but one can also die because one has received bread alone. In a profound sense we are nourished by the one who has “the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68) and a food that does not perish (Jn 6:27): the Holy Eucharist.

YOUCAT#524 What does it mean to say, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”?

Merciful forgiveness — the mercy that we show to others and the mercy that we ourselves seek — is indivisible. If we ourselves are not merciful and do not forgive one another, God’s mercy will not reach our hearts. [2838-2845, 2862]

Because Many people have a lifelong struggle with their inability to forgive. The deep blockade of being unreconciled is resolved only by looking to God, who adopted us “while we were yet sinners” (Rom 5:8). Because we have a kind Father, forgiveness and reconciliation in life are possible.

YOUCAT#525 What does it mean to say, “Lead us not into temptation”?

Because every day and every hour we are in danger of falling into sin and saying No to God, we beg God not to leave us defenseless in the power of temptation. [2846-2849]

Jesus, who was tempted himself, knows that we are weak human beings, who have little strength of our own with which to oppose the evil one. He graciously gives us the petition from the Our Father, which teaches us to trust in God’s assistance in the hour of trial.

YOUCAT#526 What does it mean to say, “Deliver us from evil”?

“Evil” in the Our Father does not mean a negative spiritual force or energy, but rather Evil in person, whom Sacred Scripture knows by the name of “the tempter”, “the father of lies”, Satan, or the devil. [2850-2854, 2864]

No one can deny that evil in the world is devastating in its power, that we are surrounded by devilish suggestions, that there are often demonic processes at work in history. Only Sacred Scripture calls things by their name: “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness” (Eph 6:12). The petition from the Our Father “deliver us from evil” brings all the misery of this world before God and begs God Almighty to free us from all evils.

YOUCAT#527 Why do we end the Our Father with “Amen”?

Christians and Jews alike from ancient times have concluded all their prayers with “Amen”, thereby saying, “Yes, so be it!” [2855-2856, 2865]

When a person says “Amen” to his words, “Amen” to his life and his destiny, “Amen” to the joy that awaits him, then heaven and earth come together and we are at the goal: with the love that created us in the beginning.

p.285 margin

There is hunger for ordinary bread, but there is also hunger for Love, kindness, and mutual respect—and that is the great poverty from which people today suffer so much.

ST. TERESA OF CALCUTTA

(1910-1997)

References / Citations

[1] Miller, Michael J, and Benedict. Youcat English: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. San Francisco, Calif: Ignatius Press, 2011, pp.281-287.

[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994.  https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

[3] BibleGateway (online bible). https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Good-News-Translation-GNT-Bible/