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Roman Catechism
“Be Done”
We Ask That We May Fulfil What God Desires Of Us
When, therefore, we pray, Thy will be done, we first of all ask our heavenly Father to give us the strength to obey His Commandments, and to serve Him in holiness and justice all our days; to do all things according to His will and pleasure; to discharge all the duties prescribed for us in Sacred Scripture; under His guidance and assistance to perform all that becomes those who are born, not of the will of the flesh but of God, thus following the example of Christ the Lord who was made obedient unto death, even unto the death of the cross; finally, to be ready to bear all things rather than depart from His holy will in even the slightest degree. Assuredly there is no one who burns with a more ardent desire and anxiety to obtain (the effect of this Petition) than he who has been so blessed as to be able to understand the sublime dignity attaching to those who obey God. For such a one thoroughly understands how true it is to say that to serve God and obey Him is to reign. Whoever, says the Lord, shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother that is to say, to him am I attached by the closest bonds of good will and love.
The Saints, with scarcely a single exception, failed not to make the principal gift contemplated by this Petition the object of their fervent prayers to God. All, indeed, have in substance made use of this admirable prayer, but not unfrequently in different words. David, whose strains breathe such wondrous sweetness, pours out the same prayer in various aspirations: O ! that my ways may be directed to keep thy justifications; Lead me into the path of thy commandments; Direct my steps according to thy word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. In the same spirit he says: Give me understanding, and I will learn thy commandments; Teach me thy judgments; Give me understanding that I may know thy testimonies. He often expresses and repeats the same sentiment in other words. These passages should be carefully noticed and explained to the faithful, that all may know and comprehend the greatness and profusion of salutary gifts which are comprehended in the first part of this Petition.