I was bought up in the Catholic faith. I went to Catholic primary and secondary schools, and I attended church every Sunday with my family as a young child, until my early teenage years.
I loved the tradition as a child. I knew every word of the hour-long service. I felt deeply connected to God from this young age and the first thing I wanted to be was a Priest. Unbeknown to me at the time, this was an early inkling of my true calling.
Catholicism was the only spirituality I knew until the age of 17. Since then, however, I have spent most of my time exploring the eastern spiritual traditions of Yoga, Buddhism and Taoism, plus Philosophy, Psychology, and human development.
I didn’t end up as a Priest, but maybe I did, just in a different form!
Though I have been mainly absorbed in other spiritual traditions, I have always retained my affinity for the story of Christ. I see the Christ consciousness as the true potential of all human beings, and it is an ideal we can all strive towards. The Christ consciousness is a representation of the fully awakened or enlightened human, and is equivalent to the Buddha nature, the Yogi who has attained Samadhi, or the consciousness attained by the Saint, or Sage of any tradition.
I have long used the prayer of St Francis of Assisi (my all-time favourite – which you should look up if you don’t know it) daily in my prayers and meditation, but I hadn’t even thought about the Our Father prayer for many years, maybe decades.
It came to my mind several weeks ago and at first attempt, I had to reach deep into my memory to recall it, but I did, and I was instantly struck at how profound it seemed with my wiser eyes all these years later.
As I reflected on each line, I was inspired to express its meaning in modern universal terminology as you will see below.
In my view this is a powerful prayer and is worthy of regular use. I have integrated into my practices and have been using it daily since.
If its meaning touches you, maybe you can integrate it into your practice too.
With Love and Wisdom,
Anthony
The Our Father.
Our Prayer to the Dear One.
Our Father who art in Heaven.
Dear One, Universal Consciousness that permeates all of existence.
The Father is also known as Brahman, God, the Tao, the Creator, Allah, the Divine, pure Being and many more. In science it is called the Unified Field.
Whatever name you use, it is a vast ocean of energy or consciousness. It is the unmanifest, as opposed to the manifested universe. It is pure abstract potential, formless, eternal, and changeless. It is beyond space, time, and matter. It is a realm of infinite possibilities, non-local correlation, uncertainty, and creativity.
This Field is the Oneness from which the universe and everything in it comes into existence. It is the One universal consciousness localising and materialising in the many forms.
Hallowed be thy Name.
I am filled with reverence and devotion for you dear One.
We are a part of the One. We are not bowing before something external but rather to the God within, the true Self or Soul.
Thy Kingdom come.
May love, wisdom and peace manifest on Earth so all creatures can live in harmony along with our beautiful planet Earth.
The kingdom of heaven, or hell for that matter, is not some external place in the afterlife but rather these are psychological states that we experience in life.
When our mind is equilibrated, we access the states of wisdom, love, and peace – heaven.
When our mind is reactive and judging, we are filled with fear, anger, insatiable desire and suffering – hell.
Thy Will be done. On Earth as it is in Heaven.
May Divine Will, not my separate self, ego will be done (for what do I know!).
I trust that there is a reason for everything that unfolds and that every experience is an opportunity for awakening and loving service.
Give me your eyes to see, your thoughts to think and your words to speak so that I may be a vehicle of your love, wisdom, and peace.
Give us this day
Thank you for another day of life, another opportunity to live.
I will give my best today.
our daily bread.
I offer myself, my life, my work, and all I do today to you.
Use me as you see fit. I will work with all my heart without regards for the results. I trust that everything I need will be provided.
Forgive us our trespasses.
Forgive my many flaws, wrongdoings, and shortcomings.
I am imperfect but am trying to do better each day.
And we forgive those who trespass against us.
Through wisdom and compassion, I will forgive the flaws, wrongdoings, and shortcomings of others.
Lead us not into temptation
May I have temperance and self-control.
May I not be carried off course by the endless desires for pleasure, comfort, and ease of my lower egoic nature and its tendencies, habits, and conditioning.
May I do all the things that I know are good for me, that propel me forward.
May I stop doing all the things that I know are not good for me, that hold me back.
And deliver us from evil.
May I be free from avidya (ignorance), and its illusion of separation that causes me to miss the mark, harm myself and others, and go astray in the myriad ways.
As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said in the Gulag Archipelago; “The line separating good and evil passes not through States, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart”. Therefore, each of us must work to restrain the darkness / evil within ourselves for peace to manifest on Earth.
May I remember the truth of Oneness and follow the path of our true Self / Soul and its love and wisdom.