The Evangelical Counsels Hidden in the Our Father
Freedom is the ability to live out the words of Christ
in His prayer commonly known as “The Our Father”. It is in the Our Father that
our earthly passage to complete eternal freedom is outlined. I honestly believe that the only way to be
completely free is the purposeful embracing of the evangelical counsels hidden
within Christ’ prayer. The evangelical counsels are: 1. Poverty 2. Chastity 3.
Obedience (obedience means “to listen”).
“Our
Father who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” (I love God and He is my all.)
“Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. (In heaven
there is no marriage as we know it on earth. In heaven we are like the angels
Matt. 22:30 this is the evangelical council: Chastity.) “Give us this day our
daily bread” (evangelical counsel: “Poverty” that is acknowledging that I am
fed by the hand of God daily. My air, my water, my rest, all are gifts from the
Father enough for this moment, enough for today. Also, the Eucharist, the bread
of life, is the resurrected food which sustains and nourishes the resurrected
life, the eternal life, within us John 6:53.) “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us”. (This speaks of the evangelical council:
“obedience”. In “obedience” I “listen” to Christ within myself and Christ
within all, even those who persecute me, I listen for any semblance and/or
resemblance to the spark of life within all known as Christ. It is in listening
that I preserve the source of this life with great care, carefully guarding the
harmonious unity first known in the beginning of all creation as the “Holy
Trinity”. ‘I (Christ) was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the
world came to be’ (Proverbs 8:23). And, ‘In the beginning was the Word (Jesus),
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ John 1:1). And “lead us not
into temptation but deliver us from evil” (i.e. ‘the love of money is the root
of all evil’ 1 Tim 6:10 is further encouragement for embracing the evangelical
counsel “poverty”. I trust God not goods. I want to be completely free.)
I heard that a Saint said in
regard to various prayers and formulas, “After the Our Father everything else
is a play on words.”
