Daddy

Trinitarian theology can be overwhelming and intimidating. We’re not familiar with one essence and three persons. It just isn’t something we experience in our day-to-day lives. Instead, we meet people who have one essence – and are simultaneously one person!

But Jesus simplifies things for us. He gives us a peak behind the curtain in Matthew Chapter 6. The Second Person of the Trinity teaches us how to approach the First Person of the Trinity. The only begotten Son gives us a formula for praying to God the Father. “You did not receive a spirit of slavery leading you back into fear, but a spirit of adoption through which we cry out, ‘Abba!’ (that is, ‘Father’)” (Rm 8:15). We have permission to call the God of the universe “Our Father” (Mt 6:9).

Although we repeat this prayer countless times during our lives, Jesus warns not to function like pagans: “They think they will win a hearing by the sheer multiplication of words” (Mt 6:7). No Catholic prayer should ever be babbled superstitiously, as though we can compel God into granting favors. Many Catholic devotionals, like the rosary, involve repetitious prayer. But the rosary and these other devotionals are potent spiritual tools when recited with reverence. “Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2708).

As we prayerfully contemplate God’s majesty and our insignificance, we can’t help but recognize our status as mere beggars. “All mankind is grass” (see 1 Pt 1:24) – but God the Father still cares for each and every one of us.

Also, if your human father has failed you in any way, forgive him. Accept God the Father’s loving care and be at peace.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (1 Cor 13:13).