Patristic Quote for the Day

Brothers, he who has bestowed upon you the gift of faith has also taught you how to pray, and he has fitted the whole formula of supplication into a few words, because when asking something of his father, a son does not have the arduous task of making a lengthy petition. For just as need forces a child to make a request, so too charity compels a father to give. Therefore, the Father, who gives willingly, shows us not so much that he should be asked as what should be asked for, in order that the son should please him by asking for what is right, since he can displease him by making a request for what is foolish. Listen to the Father, and believe that you are already his children, so that you may obtain without delay what you are asking for. - St. Peter Chrysologus, Sermon #71 (Fifth Sermon on the Lord's Prayer), par. 1