The Our Father: ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (CCC2822-2827)
Posted on December 20th 2009 in The catechism explained
God the Father desires all people to be saved, and He expresses His forbearance throughout our earthly life so that we might take up the commandment to ‘love one another, even as I have loved you’ (Jn 13:34). The Father’s plan of salvation has been made known through Jesus Christ, and through Christ the believer can benefit (Eph 1:9-11). The Father’s will finds its perfect expression in the human will of Jesus, which is made explicit in the Garden of Gethsemane: ‘not my will, but yours, be done’.
Jesus learnt the human cost of obedience through freely taking up the path of suffering, and every believer must complete the same journey. In our cases this journey remains impossible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Only then can we surrender our will and choose what Christ always freely chose. The discovery of God’s will is never easy, and those who claim an immediate apprehension of God’s will must be treated with caution. The process of discernment requires perseverance, and prayerful reflection on the deepest desires of the heart. Should these bring peace to the heart, then this is a sign of their truthfulness. In the words of Dante, ‘In his will is our peace’.