Bishop Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the  Gospel of this Sunday, July 27, 2025, entitled:  “Your desire for peace will be fulfilled”

Genesis 18:20-32:  “Do not be angry, my Lord, if I continue speaking.”

Psalm 137:  “We give thanks to you with all our hearts”

Colossians 2:12-14:  “He gave you new life with Christ, having forgiven all your sins.”

Luke 11:1-13:  “Ask, and it will be given to you.”

Day after day passes, and the illness becomes increasingly serious. Dad and Mom are constantly at the bedside of the sick child, resuscitating him and alternating in the intensive care he requires. In front of him, they appear confident and calm, then in the hospital corridors, in the silence of the house, as they confide their grief to friends, they let their tears flow freely in an urgent outpouring:  “My child is seven years old, and some time ago they diagnosed him with leukemia, which is becoming more serious and aggressive every day. We don’t know how we’ve lived these last few days; we feel like we’re walking through a long tunnel of darkness and danger. We’d like to see the light, but there’s almost no hope.” The father, hiding his head in his hands, continues his explanation amidst sobs:  “Would it be right for me to tell God to take my life instead of the child’s? To let him live. After all, I’ve already lived so many years. Is it a sin to want to change God’s will?”  No, it will never be a sin to give one’s life for love. Only a father or mother can have enough love in their heart to give their lives for their child. And yet, the love of parents is only a pale reflection of the love of God the Father.

When I have been asked what the main teaching Jesus left his disciples, I can say without a doubt that it is his experience of God the Father. We certainly don’t find him giving extensive explanations about his concept of God, nor does he have treatises on divinity, but at every moment of his life we can perceive that the experience of God is central and decisive. Where does Jesus draw so much strength to preach his word, to heal the sick, to dedicate himself fully to service? He centers his entire life and activity on this experience of God, his Father and Father of all. He is the one who inspires his message, who launches him into adventure, who gives meaning to all his proposals. It is an experience that transforms him and makes him live in search of a dignified, fraternal, and loving life for all. This experience pushes him to free all people from their fears and bondages that prevent them from feeling and experiencing God as he feels and experiences him: a loving Father, giver and friend of life, who seeks the happiness of all his sons and daughters.

It’s no surprise, then, that when the disciples ask him to teach them how to pray, he turns to what he himself constantly experiences. Early in the morning or late at night, in moments of joy or in moments of sorrow, Jesus withdraws to live in intimacy, to pray, to contemplate God, his Father, in an intimate encounter. And so this prayer springs spontaneously from him, surpassing all the expectations of Jewish tradition. It’s true that in some passages of the Old Testament, God is presented as Father, but saying it this way, with that closeness, with that childlike innocence, with the complete trust with which he calls him, goes much further. Jesus likes to call God “Father.” It springs from within him, especially when he wants to emphasize his goodness and compassion. He does so with a special word: “Abba,” my dear Father. It is the word that the children of Galilee babble when addressing their father, and it evokes all the affection, intimacy, and trust of a little boy with his father, which, despite being affectionate and familiar, does not diminish respect and submission. This Good Father is a close God, and Jesus wants his disciples to experience him this way as well. So close, as if he were simply “my dad,” yet so “ours” that he makes me feel one with my brothers and sisters. “Father” implies all the love God has for me, but saying “ours” opens me to brotherhood. Prayer is not a ritual; it is the experience of intimacy with God and closeness with my brothers and sisters. That is why he insists that we do it again and again, with complete trust, always, at all times, so that we may always be in intimate contact with the Father.

When we pray this prayer, we enter into God’s plan, where his Kingdom is made present among us, where his name is sanctified, but where bread is requested for all our brothers and sisters every day, without hoarding or blackmail. The Lord’s Prayer, lived and prayed, is a school of holiness, liberation, and love. Only Christ can teach us this experience of God as Father. He shared it with us to pray to God as Father. He is the teacher, and that is why we, too, need to say to him today: “Teach us to pray.” But we learn to walk by walking, we learn to swim by swimming, and we learn to pray by praying, every day, every moment, on every occasion. Can’t we feel loved by God at all times and in every moment? Making this love conscious is the beginning of prayer.

Father God, Good and Merciful Father, Papa, Abba, who shows us your unconditional love through your Son, hear our prayer and grant us the joy of knowing we are loved and heard, of feeling safe in your hands together with our brothers and sisters. Amen.