Our Holy Father

He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name . . . .” // Luke 11:2

It’s the third prayer I learned how to pray, after the Sign of the Cross and the Hail Mary. Taught in Catholic grade school by a warm hearted, imminently huggable kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Miller, I still remember when she tried to explain to us what “hallow” meant. “Holy. Like something very very special and like nothing else in the world. That’s God’s name. Very different than your name, or mine.”

But then that night, when my mom told me, “Listen to your father,” I became confused. My dad was “father.” And Father Danny at the church was “Father.” But this new prayer, my third one, with this super special very different holy name, was addressed to Father . . . .

Perhaps that’s the real beauty of this prayer, the one we learn as children and recite from memory, often too quickly. We don’t turn to God with flowery language we don’t understand, with words foreign to our vocabulary. We turn to God and address Him as our Father, knowing His fatherhood is very special, like nothing else in the world, set apart in the most unique of ways.

Because He is a Father Who never leaves, a Father Who provides, a Father Who does not fail in lavishing perfect love upon us. Even the best of fathers in this world make mistakes and can fall short. But God, our Father, with this hallowed name, provides our daily bread, forgives us our sins, holds us close as we face temptation, guides us ever closer to His perfect heart.

I invite you to pray the Our Father today, slowly, from your heart. See how it feels to really call out to our Father.

He is a Father Who never leaves. // @KatiePMcGradyClick to tweet

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