Objective: To encourage us to pray to the Father as one whom we can approach with trust and confidence – as we would go to our “Daddy” or our “Papa.”
Our Relation to the Father Through the Son – Bishop William Giaquinta – The Face of the Father
“When you lift up the son of man, then you realize that I AM and that I do nothing on my own, but I only say what the Father has taught me.” (John 8:28) Like his Father, Jesus is happy to stress the I AM to manifest his power and his identification with the Father.
Jesus also calls his Father by the familial and intimate term used in the Hebrew family, “ABBA.” In so doing, he reveals to us the deep and intimate relationship he has with the Father. Following the example of Jesus, we too, can and must turn to the Father and say, “My Father, Abba.” Although we will continue to say “Our Father” because we are united as a community and as the Body of Christ, we must also establish a personal relationship with the Father and say, “My Father, I love You, I adore You, I think of You and I know that You love me and think of me.” While the love of Jesus is unique because he is the only begotten Son of God, he has configured us to himself, so that each of us may awaken to the reality that the Father loves me and follows me moment by moment.
Praise of the Father – Luke 10: 21-22
“At that very moment, he rejoiced in the holy Spirit and said, ‘I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.’”
The Prayer of Jesus to the Father – Bishop William Giaquinta – The Face of the Father
“Father, all those you gave me I would have in my company where I am, to see this glory of mine, which is your gift to me, because of the love you bore me before the world began.” In the next world, we will see the glory of Christ – the glory he had even before the creation of the world. “Just Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you; and these have known that you have sent me. To them I have revealed your name, and I will continue to reveal it, so that your love for me will live in them, and I may live in them” (John 17:1-26). I can’t imagine a prayer more awesome than this one. This is the prayer of Jesus to the Father.
ABBA-FATHER – Bishop William Giaquinta – Prayers – pp 19-20
Abba-Father, grant us the grace to love you
with the same tenderness of your Son who loved you and called upon you.
Father, give us a glimpse of the love that Mary,
Your daughter, had for you.
Father, you know the number of hairs on our heads;
teach us to rely on you.
Father, you always give abundantly to those who ask;
give us complete trust in you.
Father, you provide for the birds of the air
and the lilies of the fields; never abandon us.
Father, implored by Jesus in the Garden and on the Cross;
be our strength in times of suffering.
Father, may we call upon you with the prayer your Son, Jesus taught us;
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Pro Sanctity Creed – Article I – “I believe in you, Father, God of Love, whose love for us is infinite and who asks of us, in turn, a response of total love.”
From the writings of Bishop William Giaquinta
How can the same God be the powerful, omnipotent, infinite, distant God of the Old Testament who describes Himself as “I AM WHO AM” (Exodus 3:14) and also be the God of love referred to in 1John 4:8 of the New Testament? In contrast to an often-held misperception that God’s justice in the Old Testament was vengeful, it is in fact a merciful love desirous of entering the history of humanity and reaching the heart of his people. “I will not remain angry with you for I am merciful, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 3:12) and “The Lord of Hosts shall shield Jerusalem, to protect and deliver, to spare and rescue it” (Isaiah 31:15). However, in the New Testament, the meaning of God’s love is fully manifested through Jesus who taught us that we, too, can turn to the Father with affectionate confidence as we call him “Abba” – our dear “Papa.”
Invocations to the Father – Bishop William Giaquinta – Prayers – pp 21-23
God, you who are love, inflame our hearts with your love
Father, you who begot the Word and with the Word are the source of the Spirit,
come and abide in our hearts.
Almighty Creator, transform us with the power of your love
You created man and woman in your image and likeness;
help us become your worthy children.
After the original sin you promised us Mary, the woman of hope;
help us turn to her with trust.
Father, you revealed yourself to the patriarchs, to Moses and to the prophets;
speak again to our hearts.
Father, you sent to us the Word made flesh as your image;
grant us the grace to see you in him.
Heavenly Father, grant us the strength to journey toward perfection.
Good Father, you forgive the prodigal son;
even though we are sinners, accept us also.
Father-oriented – page 2
Solicitous Father, you go in search of the lost sheep;
do not tire of correcting our wayward steps.
Provident Father, you give food to the birds of the air;
take care of us, and above all,
of those throughout the world dying of hunger.
Father, you number the hairs on our head;
sustain us on our journey toward holiness.
Universal Father, move the heart of all people to live fraternal love.
Father, help us to create a world in which all people can live
as saints and as brothers and sisters.
Father, give to all people the desire and will to become saints.
Father, you asked of your Son the ultimate sacrifice of the Cross;
teach us to love you even in our pain.
Father, source of the Holy Spirit, lavish the same Spirit on the Church,
so that she may be holy and the mother of saints.
Father, you live in eternal happiness; receive us one day, too,
so that we may praise and love you with Jesus Christ,
with the Divine Spirit and with our mother Mary. Amen.
Prayer to the Father in the Name of Christ – Bishop William Giaquinta – The Face of the Father
Let us consider the Mass, not as we usually think of it, centered on the Cross of Jesus, but as a prayer to the Father in the name of Christ, with the Father as its focal point. In the consecration, the mystical presence of the Cross is always offered to the Father, and at the elevation, we can’t imagine the assembly as the focus and not the Father. Jesus will not only forgive us for seeming to give him second place at the Mass, he will be delighted since all our prayers are in the name of Jesus.
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Questions for Reflection:
- How do I understand the seeming contradiction between the “vengeful” God of the Old Testament and the same deity as a God of love in the New Testament? Can I explain the difference to someone else?
- Do I feel comfortable praying to the Father as “Daddy” or “Papa?” If I’m reluctant, what can I do to gain the confidence to pray this way?
- Although Jesus taught them well, the apostles failed to see the Father in the Son. Can I?
- Where can I turn when the will of the Father seems beyond my strength?
Father-oriented – page 3