A Summary of the Gospel

The Apostles experienced Jesus praying so much, so frequently and so intensely that one day they just had to ask: ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples’ (Luke 11:1). Little did they understand, as was so frequent during Jesus’ public ministry, that Jesus had been teaching them to pray all along through his witness of actually praying. Jesus, however, responds to their request by going beyond their request. He does not teach them to pray as John taught his disciples; he teaches them how to pray as he does. One important aspect of the Lord’s Prayer is that it ‘is truly the summary of the whole gospel’ (CCC 2761). St. Augustine says, ‘Run through all the words of the holy prayers [in Scripture], and I do not think that you will find anything in them that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer’ (CCC 2762). At first glance one might wonder how this is the case with a prayer of so few words. But it does contain the entire message of salvation, the Good News. The most central mystery of our faith is the Blessed Trinity, an eternal exchange of love. We are destined to share in that exchange (see CCC 221). The Lord’s Prayer proclaims this glorious mystery. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are clearly revealed.