A wonderful gift of Grace
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
In CCC para. 2787, When we say "our" Father, we recognize first that all his promises of love announced by the prophets are fulfilled in the new and eternal covenant in his Christ: we have become "his" people and he is henceforth "our" God. This new relationship is the purely gratuitous gift of belonging to each other: we are to respond to "grace and truth" given us in Jesus Christ with love and faithfulness.
When we pray the “Our Father,” the prayer that Jesus gave to us in Mt. 6:9 ff., we become his people, and he is our God (see para. 2787, above). What a wonderful gift of Grace. Jesus love for His Father, and the Father’s love for His Son – that relationship is attributed to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said to Philip, ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.’ (John 14:9). Jesus is the revelation of God, and that revelation leaves the mind of humankind staggered and amazed.” (From: “Within the Heart of Mary,” by Dom Augustine Moore, OCSO. 2001, O.L. of Holy Spirit Abbey).
Who is the Holy Spirit? The answer is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, beginning with Para. 683: "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!"' This knowledge of faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindles faith in us. By virtue of our Baptism, the first sacrament of the faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son."
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: One God in three persons. To love God, is to sin no more. Strive to curtail sin, and you’ll find great peace and joy.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
April 26, 2026