To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Commentary on the Gospel of October 8, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
A short yet profound prayer. Jesus forbids his followers from using wordy babble («poliloguía») when they pray; He sees it as something pagans do (Mt 6:7)—those who do not know God but are still eager to manipulate Him if they can. The brilliant St. Augustine reminds us that prayer is not meant to inform God of our needs—He already knows them—nor to earn His goodwill, since He already loves us.
So then, why does Jesus teach us to pray? So that we may become more like Him—the One who often withdrew to pray, nurturing His loving relationship with the Father. And also so that we may come to share more deeply in Jesus’ own concerns. His message was the coming of the Kingdom of God: “The Kingdom is at hand. Believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). He is that blessed messenger spoken of by Second Isaiah: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Is 52:7). And He would like His disciples to help speed up that coming: “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Mt 6:33).
This Kingdom is a reality that Jesus never clearly defines. Instead, He points to it through metaphors, parables, and symbolic actions. Perhaps in the Our Father we find something close to a definition. The petition begins with the “hallowing of God’s name.” But this doesn’t mean whispering devout phrases when others curse, as we might have been taught as children. The verb is passive, meaning God Himself is the one acting. The background is found in Ezekiel 36:23: “I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations….” In that context, God’s action refers to rescuing and reuniting His scattered people and purifying them from pagan influences: “I will gather the Israelites from the nations where they have gone” (Ez 37:21). When this happens, God will truly reign, and His people will rejoice in Him. The Gospel of Matthew makes this even clearer by adding a further petition that sums everything up: “Your will be done.”
Another petition that seems different but is really the same in essence is the plea for forgiveness of offenses and sins. Yahweh had promised: “I will cleanse you from all your impurities” (Ez 36:33). Closely related to this is the image of the Good Shepherd who will not let His people go astray: “Do not let us fall into temptation,” that is, don’t let us mistake something else for Your Kingdom.
We’ve saved the request for bread for last—it’s the most puzzling and hardest to translate. In Luke’s version, there’s a certain tension: it combines “tomorrow” with “each day”—a one-time event with something ongoing. We believe this reflects a layering of Jesus’ original thought with the evangelist’s interpretation. For Luke, writing for a Church that would last through time, this petition is about trusting in God’s providence: that He will care for His children. But in Jesus’ own eschatological language, the “bread of tomorrow” may refer to the coming messianic age—once again asking, “Let your Kingdom come,” since in the Old Testament, the Kingdom is portrayed as a banquet “of rich food and aged wines” (Is 25:6).
When we pray the Our Father, we are called to step into a new era—the era of the Kingdom, of transforming forgiveness, of true brotherhood. And also into the security of being under the care of a Father who guides us and, in His providential love, gives us all we need.
Your brother,