VII. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ROSARY

(d) _The "Our Father"_


"Lord, teach us to pray."--Luke xi, I.

Dear Brethren: The holiest, the most beautiful and most perfect, and
for this reason the most efficient prayer is the "Our Father."

This prayer comes from Our Lord himself, who gave it to His disciples
when they urged that He should teach them how to pray. The "Our
Father," therefore, had its origin with God himself, and, therefore, is
the holiest of prayers. It is a petition to His heavenly Father,
composed by the God-man and bequeathed to us, His brethren. In this
petition is contained everything we may ask for. Tertullian says in his
writings that the "Our Father" contains not merely the things for which
man ought to ask God, but also everything the Lord has taught and
ordained, so that the whole Christian doctrine is briefly contained
therein. The separate petitions are arranged according to their
importance, and follow one another in a most appropriate way.
Therefore, the "Our Father" is according to its origin, as also
according to its contents and its form, the perfect prayer.

The divine Saviour promised that everything we ask of our Father in
heaven He will give us. When we recite the "Our Father" we not merely
pray in the name of Jesus, but in His own words. Hence the Lord's
Prayer is to God the most pleasing prayer, and for that reason the most
efficient and powerful of prayers. It is evident from the history of
the Church that the Lord's Prayer has, at all times been held by the