Jesus of Nazareth

Before he is the subject of our prayer, Jesus is its teacher. “Lord, teach us to pray,” his disciples asked — and he gave them the Our Father, the prayer at the root of all Christian prayer (Matthew 6, Luke 11).

He taught not only words but a way: to go into the inner room and shut the door; not to heap up empty phrases, but to trust the Father who already knows our needs; to pray always and not lose heart.

And his own name became a prayer. From the desert fathers onward, the Church has returned to it on the breath — “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” — until the prayer prays itself, from the lips, through the mind, into the heart.