My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are nineteen (19) In Brief articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which treat the Lord’s Prayer or “Our Father.” The following reflection considers CCC, 2802.
While the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer remind us to Whom we are speaking (Our Father), the following words of the Lord’s Prayer “who art in Heaven,” remind us of our ultimate destination and even how God dwells in the hearts of the just. Heaven is not “just” a place, but a state of being. God’s majesty is heavenly. God’s presence is heavenly. In Sacred Scripture there are over six hundred references to Heaven (e.g. Genesis 1:1, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 20; Exodus 20:22; 32:13; Deuteronomy 4:39; Joshua 2:11; Ezra 5:11; Acts 4:12; 2 Corinthians 12:2; Galatians 1:8; Ephesians 1:10; Revelation 11:13…). The Hebrew terms shamayim and shameh are translated as Heaven from the root meaning “to be lofty, the sky, aloft.” Put another way “the glory of the stars is the beauty of Heaven” (Sirach 43:10). Saint Augustine (+430) treats Heaven in his Confessions (Book XII, Ch. 2, 7-9, 11-13, 15, 17, 19-22, 24, 27-29). Saint Thomas Aquinas (+1274) addresses Heaven variously under the heading of where souls go after death and the beatific vision enjoyed by the saints in his Summa Theologiae and in five pages of his explanation on the Lord’s Prayer (cf. Sup. Q. 69. A. 1-4, 7; 92 A. 1-3 ). The Italian poet Dante Alighieri (+1321) used much of the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas as a format upon which he based his three part Divine Comedy which, in part, addresses Heaven (Paradiso). Among others who have written well on Heaven is Saint Gertrude the Great (+ 1302) in her Revelations.
The Lord’s Prayer reminds us of our true homeland, Heaven. “Our citizenship is in Heaven” already (cf. Philippians 3:20). While we live in the world we are not of the world and are to keep our minds on things of Heaven (cf. John 17:16; Colossians 3:2). In the Sacraments we approach mystically the God of Heaven, the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Hebrews 12:22). We are to live as good citizens in the here and now, rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s (cf. Matthew 22:20-22; Mark 12:16-17).
The Lord’s Prayer reminds us of our journey to Heaven. The Theological Virtue of Hope consists primarily in our longing for Heaven (cf. Colossians 1:5). Our hope for Heaven follows from Christ’s Ascension, where He has gone we hope to follow (cf. Hebrews 9:24; 1 Peter 3:22). Heaven is our inheritance where we will be incorruptible (cf. 1 Peter 1:4).
The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we already belong to Heaven within the communion of saints. We are now already “fellow citizens with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19). Saints Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Gertrude and countless others are cheering us on to join them on high. Our living prayerful lives, including the Lord’s Prayer, is a part of our journey.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr