This Sunday, as the Church celebrates the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, we are invited to reflect on the treasure of prayer—an inheritance of faith passed down through generations.
In Jesus’ time, the day began with prayer. The devout Jew would take up the Tallit, the prayer shawl, and lift his heart to God in the Shacharit, the morning prayer. Today, our mornings often begin not with prayer, but with phones and headlines. Have we gained humanity by replacing conversation with God with endless distractions?
Prayer is in crisis. In a world overflowing with demands, people trim what feels dispensable—and prayer is often the first to go. Many no longer see the need, assuming science and effort alone suffice. But in truth, it’s not that we pray less because we’ve advanced—it’s that we’ve misunderstood what prayer really is.
Jesus, whose life was rooted in prayer, offers us clarity. In Luke’s Gospel, after watching him pray, the disciples ask, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Something in his communion with the Father moved them—it wasn’t formulas or favours. It was peace, integrity, and clarity. They saw that prayer transforms not circumstances first, but the person praying.
The Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a formula. It is the heart of the Gospel in prayer form. It reminds us that God is Father—not a distant ruler but a loving parent, deeply involved in our joys and sorrows. It is a mirror, showing us whether our lives reflect God’s kingdom of love, justice, and peace.
We pray, “Hallowed be your name,” asking that God’s love—not fear or control—be seen through us. “Your kingdom come” means living by Christ’s rule of service, not power. “Give us this day our daily bread” challenges our greed and reminds us to live simply and justly. “Forgive us…as we forgive” invites us into divine mercy that restores rather than punishes.
Finally, “Do not subject us to the final test” echoes Jesus’ own prayer in Gethsemane. It acknowledges life’s trials and pleads for strength, not escape, but grace. Several times in the Gospels, Jesus invites us to pray, assuring us that the heavenly Father listens to and answers our prayers. “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will grant you.” And in today’s parable: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” If you still do not receive an answer, insist.
This Sunday, let us take a moment to remember our elders and grandparents, especially. Many have spent lifetimes teaching us how to pray—silently, steadfastly, sometimes in pain, often with love. Their lived faith is a school of prayer. In a world that forgets the wisdom of age, the Church invites us to honour it, for in their prayers, we often find our own beginning.
Let us return to the heart of prayer. As the disciples once asked, we too can ask: “Lord, teach us to pray.” And he will—because prayer, above all, is his gift to us.
Father Josekutty Mathew CMF
