"I tell you again that if two of you agree on earth to ask for anything, it will be granted to them by my Father who is in heaven, for where two or three are assembled in my name, I am in the midst of them" (Mat.18.19 / 20).

In the model prayer, which Jesus leaves us, he uses the plural "our". In doing so, he shows us the ties that bind us to other believers in Christ. We are not unique children, but we have brothers and sisters. By taking up the images of Scripture which describe the Church, it is said that we form a body, that we are an army, that we are a temple made of many stones, that we are a flock. All these images emphasize that we are not alone. True, prayer has a personal dimension, but it also lives in communion with the body of Christ.

The word "our" emphasizes the importance of this horizontality in which we communicate with each other, so that we can communicate together vertically with "the Father of the Enlightenment" (James 1:17). This term, "our", imposes an examination of ourselves, to see if we can truly say that we love the brothers, even before we think of addressing ourselves to God.

Sometimes we say, "Our Father," and we present ourselves before Him as children who quarrel. Every wise father, when his children quarrel, will take his children near him, and will invite them to ask forgiveness. So it is with God; Before he can listen and hear us, he invites us to work on the quality of what is essential to our brotherly relationship: "But I tell you that anyone who becomes angry with his brother deserves to be punished By the judges, and he who will say to his brother, Raca, deserves to be punished by the Sanhedrim, and he who will say to him: Foolish, deserves to be punished by the fire of Gehenna. At the altar, and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go and be reconciled with your brother, and come and present your offering" (Matthew 5:22). / 24).

What power in prayer when hearts are gathered, in true communion, around the Lord ! Re-read these passages : Acts 2.1 ; Acts 2.46; Acts 4.24 / 31; Acts 5.12. The word "together" goes well beyond a gathering in one place. He speaks of a communion of heart and spirit with one another. The disciples prayed in being one heart and one soul, so it was followed by marvelous graces.

It is preferable to be only two or three to pray "together", as has just been said, that fifty or more who do not have the same thoughts. Work to improve fraternal communion with the other disciples of Christ.

My prayer on this day :

Help me to see in the other, the son, the daughter, of my Heavenly Father, so that my fellowship with him may be deepened.

Paul Calzada