Our Father's seven sacraments

"Lord, teach us to pray."
 – Luke 11:1

As I was in prayerful meditation this morning and saying the Our Father, God revealed something very beautiful and profound to me and I want to share it with you.

I was in my morning meditation in which I simply ask God to let me spend time with Him, in the presence of His infinite love. And as I was saying the Our Father, He revealed to me one after another the hidden sacraments inside this prayer that Jesus Christ gave us when His disciples asked him to show us how to pray. And He also revealed within the Our Father the commandments that Jesus gave His disciples, which are to love God and to love our neighbor.

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Our Father who art in Heaven
Hallowed by Thy Name

Here we see the first commandment that Christ gave His disciples, which is to love God. Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind." There is also a sense of the act of creation through the almighty power of God; both the creation of the world and the miraculous act of creation of each of us through conception and birth

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Thy Kingdom come

Here we have a reminder of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Which is when we are welcomed into the Kingdom of God. There is also a reminder of when Jesus himself was baptized in the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist and the Heavens opened up and God spoke saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

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Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven

Here is the Sacrament of Confirmation, through which we become active participants in bringing God's Kingdom to earth. We are reminded that Jesus was God incarnate, and the living embodiment of the Holy Trinity. And we are reminded of Christ reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah and then saying, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

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Give us this day our daily bread

Here we see very clearly the Sacrament of the Eucharist, through which we receive the Bread of Heaven. We are also reminded of the Last Supper when Christ broke the bread and said, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

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And forgive us our trespasses

This is also very clear, and it is the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. We are also reminded of Christ when he heals the crippled man and says, "your sins are forgiven."

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As we forgive those who trespass against us

Here we are reminded of the words of Christ, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

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And lead us not into temptation

This is not so clear at first glance, but it is the Sacrament of Matrimony; because Holy Marriage removes the temptation to fall into original sin. And for those who choose the religious life, this becomes the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Christ reveals the importance of Holy Marriage in God's plan when he declares, "Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."

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But deliver us from evil

This is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament is a spiritual comfort that delivers us from evil at the hour of our death and leads us into everlasting life. It also reminds us of Christ's sacrifice for us on the Cross, and His Resurrection which declares His Triumph over evil.

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Amen