The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 359: The Seven Petitions (2024)

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

In the Lord’s Prayer, we make seven different petitions to our Father in heaven. Together, we examine what makes each set of these seven petitions different. Fr. Mike unpacks how the first three petitions emphasize love of the Father, the next two concern us in the present world, and the final two concern the battle of prayer. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2803-2806. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

I'm Father Mark Mary Ames with the Franciscan Friars The Renewal. My brothers and sisters at the service of becoming saints and falling in love with Jesus and Mary and the Most Holy Rosary, the team here at Ascension Press have put together the Rosary in a Year podcast. Each day we're gonna have a 10 to 15 minute episode where we're just gonna work through the basics of the rosary. Who is Jesus? How do we encounter Jesus? Who is Our Lady? What does it mean for us to be in relationship to her? We're going to go through the Hail Mary, the Our Father, each of the different mysteries. And then we're going to bring in some Saint writings on the mysteries and some sacred art that speaks on the mysteries and all of this to help enrich our prayer, to renew our prayer, to help us fall in love with Jesus and Mary and to fall in love with the Rosary again. If you want to join us on this journey, you can begin by going to assentgenpress.com

forward slash rosaryinayear to download the prayer plan and by listening and praying with us through the Rosary in a Year podcast. All right, look forward to the journey with you. Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in Scripture, passed down to the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity and God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home.

This is day 359. We're reading paragraphs 2803 to 2806. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C I Y. And you can click follow or subscribe to your podcast app for daily

updates and daily notifications. Today's three. Fifty nine. Nass a work people. And you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications today's 359 nas a work people we're reading paragraph 2803 2806 we're going on to the next Next article essentially the seven petitions so we recognize that here in the Lord's Prayer in the our father At first we say our father who art in heaven and then we have these three petitions that are Directed carry us towards him. That's what it says in 2804. And they're for his own sake. We say, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. So there's that sense of this first of these seven petitions. The first three are for his own sake. God may your name be

hallowed, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. But the second series of petitions, the last four, we're praying for ourselves. In many ways we're saying, give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil. And there's something beautiful about this,

this says there in 4805, it says, the fourth and fifth petitions concern our life as such, to be fed and healed of sin. And the last two concern our battle for the victory of life, the battle, that battle of prayer, which I think is amazing. So the first two give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses. Those have to do with our life as such

to be fed and healed of sin. And the last two lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, concern our battle for the victory of life, that battle of prayer. So great. So as we launch into these seven petitions, we're just going to talk, we have four paragraphs quick before we even actually look at how

would be that name. We're just going to look at the structure a little bit here from paragraph 20 to three to 20 or six. So as we look at structure, we also know that the most important thing is not the information that we know the data that we have. The most important thing is to be able to enter into communion enter to prayer relationship with our Father and so we pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit amen Father in heaven our Father who art in heaven we give you praise hallowed be thy name my kingdom come thy will be done God, may you be glorified. May your name be hallowed, known to be holy, praised and revered, loved and adored. May

your kingdom come. Let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. And Father, may your will be done. May your will be done in our lives, not just in this world, not just in our culture, but in this day, in this moment, may your will be done. With his next breath, with this next minute, with this next 15 minutes, Lord, may your will be done. Always. Thy will be done always. I will be done always.

We make this prayer in the name of the one who gave us this prayer, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We're reading paragraphs 28-3 to 28-06. Article 3. The Seven Petitions. After we have placed ourselves in the presence of God our Father to adore and to love and to bless Him, the spirit of adoption stirs up in our hearts seven petitions, seven blessings. The first three, more theological, draw us toward the glory of the Father, the last four,

as ways toward Him, commend our wretchedness to His grace. Deep calls to deep. The first series of petitions carries us toward Him for His own sake, Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will. It is characteristic of love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of the three petitions do we mention ourselves. The burning desire, even anguish of the beloved Sonitions do we mention ourselves, the burning desire,

even anguish of the beloved Son for His Father's glory, seizes us. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. These three supplications were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Christ, but they are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all. The second series of petitions unfolds with the same movement as certain Eucharistic epicleses, as an offering up of our expectations, that draws down upon itself the eyes of the Father of mercies. They go up from us and concern us from this very moment in our present world. Give us, forgive us, lead us not, deliver us. The fourth and fifth petitions

concern our life as such, to be fed and to be healed of sin. The last two concern our battle for the victory of life, that battle of prayer. By the first three petitions we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope, and set aflame by charity. Being creatures and still sinners, we have to petition for us, for that us bound by the world and history which we offer to the boundless love of God. For through the name of his Christ and the reign of his Holy Spirit, our Father accomplishes his plan of salvation for us and for the whole world. There we have it, paragraph 2803 to 2806. This is, I know, okay I'm broken record. I'm a broken record. Beautiful. Just incredible. I love, you

know, I said yesterday, I think it was yesterday, that one of the paragraphs kind of took me by surprise. It was the paragraph that talked about the, basically gave a gospel presentation in paragraph 2795 about how God is so good, his home is in heaven, we're made for that home and yet sin exiles us, this whole thing and Jesus Christ reconciled heaven and earth and we get to have conversion of heart and say yes to him and get back to our heavenly home. Amazing, beautiful. Today I'm kind of taken by surprise as well. I have taught, I can't tell you how many times I have taught on the Our Father, on the Lord's Prayer, from the Catech. And yet I think this might be the first time

or I've, I mean, again, I've literally taught on the seven petitions, right? And yet I don't know if I ever noticed the difference between the first three, the next two, and the final two. And I just, I was like, yeah, the first three are for God to be glorified, yeah. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. And then the last like, yeah, the first three are for God to be glorified. Yeah. How would be that name? Like kingdom come, that will be done.

And then the last four. Yeah, of course. That's, that's, we're praying for what we need in this, this day and, and every day, but to really truly focus on the fact that those first three highlight the, the, the primary characteristic of love, to think first of the one whom we love. That I am just a selfish and self-centered prayer, right? Where I'm saying, yeah, our Father who art in heaven, and we'll get to the stuff where I start asking for myself.

Here's what I need. But no, even as a self-centered person, Jesus says, yeah, I want you to learn how to love first the Lord, first love the Father, first love God himself. And so the first things we petition for, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. It just, it reorients our hearts. And that's, it's so, it seems characteristic of the teachings of Jesus, right, that this reorientation of our hearts happens even if we don't even know it.

He puts into our mouths these words that reveal first things first. And the first thing here is the one whom we love. That his name is hallowed, that his kingdom comes, that his will is done. Why did I not notice that? It's so much love, it is so much love in that. But also those last four, right,

the second set of petitions, how they're divided into two. I know I already said this in the introduction here, but paragraph 2805 highlights this. The fourth and fifth petitions, right, give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses. Concern our life as such to be fed and to be healed of sin the last two lead us not into temptation deliver us from evil

Concern our battle for the victory of life that battle of prayer And there's something remarkable about this that it keeps in keeps us right before our eyes the fact that yep We have to do today's business today. We we need God here right now, right here. Here he is. We need him immediately. And also raises our eyes to the ultimate end. And the ultimate end is, God, there's a battle. There is a battle that we are all in.

And so please lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. So important that we keep all of these things in the forefront of our minds. First, God, you're first. You are number one. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. I wanna think of you first

because you're the one whom I love more than me. Hopefully, God, and this is all of us, hopefully we love God more than we love ourselves. Hopefully we love God more than we love anything. That doesn't automatically happen. So when we pray the Lord's Prayer, when we pray the Our Father, one of the things we're asking is change my heart, change my heart so that I can pray first of all for you and your own sake.

It's amazing. Love you God. And also, help me to do the tasks of today. Be with me in the tasks of today that give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, and also help me to keep my eyes fixed on the goal. Help me keep my eyes fixed on the fact that you have, like we said yesterday,

that you have made us for a heavenly homeland. You have prepared a place for us to dwell with you for eternity and help us always, always to say yes to that by leading us not into temptation and delivering us always, always to say yes to that by leading us not into temptation and delivering us from evil. It's just so powerful and so incredible. The last line of paragraph 2806, for through the name of his Christ and the reign of his Holy Spirit, our Father accomplishes his plan of salvation for us and for the whole world. Amazing that through the name of Jesus Christ

and the reign of his Holy Spirit, our Father accomplishes his plan of salvation for us and for the whole world. It just seems like so powerful. One of the great ways, I know we're talking our Father right now, but one of the great prayers that has been given to us in our patrimony, right, our inheritance

is called the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. And there is something that just leaps off the page today. It's one of the parts, it's a part of the prayer of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. So Jesus had revealed to St. Faustina, a Polish nun, he revealed to her of his divine mercy, revealed to her the depth of his heart, longing for our trust and longing to bring this, what he did for us on Calvary, what he poured out of his Holy Spirit and Pentecost to the whole world. And so we pray this in the chaplet,

we say for the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. That prayer, for the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. And that's amazing. Through the name of Jesus Christ, the reign of his Holy Spirit, our Father accomplishes his plan of salvation for us and for the whole world. For the reign of his Holy Spirit our father accomplishes his plan of salvation

For us and for the whole world for the sake of his sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world Remember we said this the other day that God's love excludes no one And so our prayer must exclude no one So good and so I gotta tell you it's true if God love God love excludes no one, and therefore our prayer has to exclude no one, guess what? I'm praying for you. And please pray for each other and pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.