4/20

This past semester, when we gathered for class, before we would begin the lecture the whole class would engage in a prayer. Many from St. Thomas of Aquinas but also, a recurring prayer was the “Our Father” prayer. This week’s reading from the Catechism of the Catholic Church was an in depth analysis of the “Our Father”, discussing the meaning behind it’s words and the cause for saying them. An aspect of the prayer that the Catechism heavily covered was how baptism was the uniting factor in the prayer. The “Our Father” connects all the different facets of Christianity but only to those who are baptized. It was almost a footnote, every time the book would discuss people speaking the prayer, it would attach a little statement at the end, stating that yes it is a prayer for all people, but just those who are baptized. I have been saying the “Our Father” in school since the 4th grade, a version which ends slightly different to the one we say in class, but the “Our Father” nonetheless. I am not a baptized person, but I am still interested in the Catholic faith and maybe joining it. I attend a Catholic university where it is said in both dorm and academic life. Yet apparently it is against the will of God for me to say it. The Catechism states that the “Our Father” is supposed to be a prayer that develops the disposition to desire to become like God and to have a humble and trusting heart. Does it fall within those dispositions to disallow others from saying their prayer?