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"Father, hallowed be Your name. . . . " (Luke 11:2)
Ever since I was old enough to say it, I thought the opening of Our Lord's Prayer was purely to praise the name of God, but was surprised when I learned it's actually the prayer's first petition. In St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus Himself teaches us how to ask not only for the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence in which they should be desired.
When we say the first petition, "Hallowed be Your name," we're asking the Father that His name be made holy in us so that we may be made holy before Him through our actions. God's name is blessed when we strive to live in a way that's pleasing to Him, but His name is cursed when we live wickedly. We're asking then, that just as the name of God is holy, we may obtain His holiness in our souls.
Once we begin every prayer with this in mind, we feel a sting whenever we hear the holy name of God being abused with casual indifference. That's why we don't say hallowed be Your name in us, but we ask that His name be hallowed in everyone.
Jesus not only gives us the words to the most perfect of prayers, He gives us His spirit. So when we begin Our Lord's Prayer the way He Himself did, we're preparing ourselves to ask much more of our Father, and we can be certain that in His generosity, He will give it.
Elizabeth Tichvon is a Catholic writer and Consecrated Marian Catechist under the Direction of His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke. Always faithful to the Magisterium, she spreads and defends the Catholic faith as a true witness of Christ, confessing the name of Jesus boldly, never ashamed of the Cross.
Elizabeth became aware of the need for the New Evangelization while in the two years of her formation as a Marian Catechist and wrote over 200 published meditations on Sacred Scripture from the daily Liturgy of the Word for various Catholic websites, and following Jesus' example, now teaches through her own parables so that by sharing her stories through social media, might bring others closer to the heart of Christ. She is currently a regular columnist at Catholic365 and as a Marian Catechist, her spiritual life is the foundation of her writing.
She completed UCLA's Graduate Program With Honors and worked as a Paralegal for 32 years before retiring from Chrysler's Office of the General Counsel in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Elizabeth's website may be found at elizabethtichvon.net
