We Dare To Say is a resource for faith-sharing groups on The Lord's Prayer structured over five weeks.
Also in The Year of Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer > Pilgrims of Prayer > Hearts In Search of God > Pray As You Go >We Dare To Say is a resource for faith-sharing groups on The Lord’s Prayer structured over five weeks.
At every moment of every day, somewhere in the world, Christians are praying the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. When said in liturgy or in devotional prayer, together or privately, the Lord’s Prayer is a like a gentle, multilingual hum of heartfelt praise and petition.
St Thomas Aquinas once wrote that ‘The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers… In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them.’
Pope Francis has asked us, as part of our preparation for the Holy Year in 2025, to make this year into a time for refreshing our prayer, and especially our appreciation and use of the Our Father. I am pleased, then, to commend to you We Dare To Say, a five-week faith sharing resource on the familiar and powerful words of the Our Father.
May you come to a deeper appreciation of what the Lord Jesus himself has given us in response to the disciples’ request ‘Lord, teach us to pray’. And please remember me in your prayers.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster
In St Luke’s account of the Early Church we hear that three thousand were baptised following Pentecost (Acts 2:41). Guided by the Holy Spirit, the newly baptised ‘devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers‘ (Acts 2:42). In a similar fashion thousands of people have found spiritual nourishment in faith-sharing, in reflecting on Scripture and prayer as part of a small group.
This resource feeds such small groups drawing on the Scriptures with each session clearly rooted in a passage from the Bible. As the Second Vatican Council Fathers emphasised ‘in the sacred books the Father comes lovingly to meet his children and talks with them’ (Dei Verbum, 21).Fellowship is a vital part of small group participation. In these small groups you are able to get to know your fellow Christians better and to form strong, mutually supportive bonds.
We are a living community: ‘God does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link …’’ (Lumen Gentium, 9).Members of small groups are encouraged to share and gain confidence in talking about their faith. It is this confidence building in a trusting environment that helps participants to ‘love in all the circumstances of ordinary life’ (Gaudium et Spes, 38). Our prayers together help us to become the dwelling places of the Holy Spirit that we are called to be (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 2).
The Lord’s Prayer, found in Matthew’s Gospel at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, shows us our new inheritance in Baptism.
As Jesus has loved us, so we are called to love one another. This, and love of God above all things, summarises the will of God.
The old dictum, Deus Providebit (God will provide), is borne from experience, not always obvious but nevertheless real.
God’s mercy endures; with him all things are possible. In this prayer, we hear that the outpouring of God’s mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven others.
The doxology, used in our liturgy but not often in personal prayer, is a song of praise to, and a powerful recognition of, Almighty God.
