Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Thursday of the eleventh week in ordinary time, June 18th, 2026

Delivered by Enge Christina from the Parish of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Sirach 48: 1-14; Rs psalm 97: 1-2.3-4.5-6.7; Matthew 6: 7-15.A DEVOTED PRAYER The theme for our meditation today is: A DevotedPrayer. There is a junior high school student who became the best graduate ofhis school. As an expression of gratitude, he first prayed in his room to thankthe Lord. Then he went to his father and mother to share with them his joy andthanks. To his parents the boy said: "Thank you Dad, thank you Mom, I trymy best to remain a good child and be loyal to Dad and Mom." A child who is faithful, obedient and attentive to hisparents will do his best to make them happy. He never has intention todisappoint or hurt them. This is what we mean by children having devotion totheir parents. Likewise, if our prayers are the expression of our devotion toGod, it means that we pray in our position as sons and daughters or childrenwho are obedient to God. The prayer of "Our Father" is a devotedprayer, because it is the prayer of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who unitesall of us as His brothers and sisters, to bring us under the protection of ourFather in heaven. This devotional prayer contains words of praise, glory,gratitude and request that are easy for us to understand. Prayers of childrenalways have these kinds of characteristic. Whereas the prayers of persons of honor,  the rulers, scholars and intelligent peopletend to be full of exaggeration. They intend to praise God with beautifulwords, rhetorical and highfalutin words. They tend to present their abilitiesand achievements in the world as if they want to show that they are soimportant before God. As they are obsessed with such attitude, they forget togive thanks and ask God's favor. The prayer of "Our Father" is a prayerdevoted particularly to our loving Father to express our sincerity andcommitment of faith, that it is our Christian calling by taking part in thelife and mission of Jesus Christ. This means that if we stay far away fromJesus Christ or maybe our being outside of His Kingdom, such expression to Godas our "Father" will be illogical and out of place. An act ofdevotion really demands one's sincerity and commitment, because these are thetrademarks of devoted people. The prayer of "Our Father" is a devotedprayer because it is prayed at all times, it is prayed by the public, and it isprayed in all types of worship. In short, this prayer is a model for all typesof prayers of the believers. This prayer is translated into various languages​​and dialects, so that anyone can pray it anywhere. The prayer of "Our Father" is a devotedprayer because we use the word "we" that indicates the believers whodevote themselves to the Father in heaven. We do not use the word"My" which refers to personal possession, or "Your" whichis not appropriate for the communication of prayer that involve people who prayand God who listens. Let'spray. In the name of the Father …  Almighty Father in heaven, may our spirit of prayer remain strong andhelp us to be holy as You are holy. Our Father who art in heaven …  In the name of the Father …