I really like the way that St. Thomas Aquinas subdivided the Pater: three desires and four petitions. In these three desires we were taught to approach God as His children, asking to live in His house according to His love.
As St. Matthew tells us, Jesus taught us the Pater from atop the Mt. of Olives. As His hour approached, He went with His friends to the garden at the foot of the same mount. There, He prayed in a way that takes us back to the three desires in the Pater. Twice He prayed that the will of God be done, not His. He desired at that grueling hour what He taught us to desire. As we carry our own crosses, Jesus taught us in the Gethsemane to embrace them and to trust in God’s will, giving Him glory as we pace on to His kingdom.
+JMJ+
