 Brothers, our gospel passage from Matthew today has Jesus instructing those disciples on prayer. He shares with them that precious treasure, that very familiar prayer to all of us, the Our Father. And we see its position right at the heart of his Sermon on the Mount. Again, where he's proclaiming the good news, maybe for the first time, and he wants to teach them this prayer that's directed to the Father in heaven, to root them in their identity. We know where we live in a day where people are confused by their identity, and this prayer starts by acknowledging who God is and who we are, we're sons of God. We're blessed in our obligation to pray the liturgy of the hours as part of our sacred vocation. This week, the 11th week of ordinary time has been providing us excerpts from this treatise. My Saint Cyprian of Cartage on this beautiful prayer, and it's really challenging to add very many beautiful insights. We have another couple of days, Friday and Saturday, we'll hear more from that office. But I want to offer just a few remarks for reflection. For myself, I think one of the most beautiful legacies of Saint Pope John Paul II is the universal catechism of the Catholic Church. Now times when this prayer, I feel it's getting mundane or too familiar, I'd love to go back to the catechism because he gives us such a beautiful teaching on the Our Father. It begins with this incredible citation from the church father, Tertullian, who says this about the Our Father. Quote, it is truly the summary of the whole gospel. That's quite a statement. That's high praise for this prayer. Again, that I think some of us, I know I'm pointing the finger at myself, sometimes can say or mumble through too quickly. As a kid, I always flashed back to my dad could say the prayer before meals and lightning speed. Bless us, O Lord. And the Our Father wasn't too far behind that. And I try to catch myself when I'm saying, slow down, say what you're saying, say it with meaning. Part of my vocation started in that place, Medjugorje, again, wait for the church, whatever's announcement. But I remember a reflection I read when I came back, again, supposedly our lady's words saying, take time, maybe take a whole hour just to pray the Our Father, just to sit with that prayer. So I challenge you and myself to, again, slow down at times with this prayer. Catechism also notes the great doctor of the church, St. Augustine. He demonstrated how the Psalms or the principle of food or Christian prayer, again, going back to the office, we know all seven hours have Psalms in them, and that these Psalms flow together into the seven petitions that are part of the Our Father. And Augustine concludes with these words, quote, run through all the words of the holy prayers in scripture. And I do not think that you'll find in anything in them that's not contained and included in the Lord's prayer. In quote. So again, high praise here from the doctor of grace. This prayer is special. It's power-packed. Kind of like the Red Bull of prayers. Stay away from Red Bull, not something like right, but it is really juiced in, again, from the Lord's lips. If we turn to another great doctor, the angelic doctor, Thomas Aquinas, he echoes this high adulation, and here's what he states, quote, the Lord's prayer is the most perfect of prayers. In it, we ask not only for the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. That's a lot to reflect on. Again, not only the things we should desire, but again, saying them in the order God wants. Order is important. Catechism then explains how in the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus is teaching us for life. And then the our Father, he wants to teach us to prayer because that's where we draw life from him. But send both one and the other that this Holy Spirit that we love so much, the Spirit invited you brothers to this conference. It's the fault of life, the fire of life. And here Aquinas is saying, here the Spirit gives new form to our desires. Those moments that animate our lives, our choices. Jesus teaches us this new gospel life, again by his words to be attitudes and following. But then he says, I want you to pray for it by teaching us the our Father, just prayer from the heart. We heard word yesterday challenging us. Again, how to worship. Remember, almsgiving, prayer, fasting, always with sincerity, not to be seen by others. So again, in this prayer, the eternal word of God, the Son of Man gives us words he learned from the Father that he should share with his brothers and sisters to bring their needs to him. That ancient document that talks a lot about Christian communities to dedicate, it indicated that the Lord's Prayer was prayed three times by the infant Christian community. That it took to place a customary Jewish prayers. We know that all of us living now, if we pray the office, morning prayer, evening prayer, the mass, we're doing the same at the minimum. And if we pray the rosary, chaplets, other prayers, many more are fathers on top of that. Brothers, this prayer should always be special to us. In so many ways, we reflect the Heavenly Father to our people. In this prayer, again, we call on that Father who we want to imitate. So as we near the altar this morning to receive our Lord's precious body and blood, to seek the strength to live this new gospel life, that our hearts soar once anew with hope, renewed faith. Let's look eagerly and yearn for the Lord's return. Indeed, in the crazy days we live in, we should never despair, never become despondent as that prayer says in the chaplet. But we should always be filled with hope, wanting him to return. We should always echo those words from this prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.