Homily for Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

We just heard the story of Jesus introducing the LORD’S Prayer, which is found in only two of the Gospels: Matthew and Luke. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus precedes His teaching of the Prayer by warning us not to use too many words or to babble, as did the pagans, who did so in an attempt to induce the gods to show favor to them.

Jesus tells us that we should not pray that way. Our heavenly Father cannot be influenced or controlled by such babbling. Instead, Jesus teaches us to surrender to the will of God.

We should be praying for God’s glory, the coming of God’s kingdom, the doing of God’s will, instead of our wants. In doing so, we concede our dependence on God for our most basic needs, to get through this world and to move toward the world to come.+