A book by or with Pope Francis and the importance and how he looks at the way the Lord's prayer should be reflected on. A good insight.

Beautifully presented as a conversation, Our Father reveals so much about the lovely Pope Francis. The book is small, easily read and would be a splendid gift. The book also contains various pieces of Pop Francis' writings and reflections on the Lord's Prayer, which again offer insights on the man. I so appreciated the format and the content.

I was very excited to read this book. I have read many terrific books about this prayer, especially Scott Hahn's Understanding the Our Father. But this book is a little different. This book is a conversation. The introduction states:

"In this book, a conversation with Fr. Marco Pozza, a priest and prison chaplain from Padua, Italy, the pope offers his heartfelt thoughts on the universal prayer for strength, mercy, and forgiveness.

To mark this special celebration, this book is supplemented with some of Pope Francis's most thoughtful meditations on the Lord's Prayer from throughout his papacy."

This book is part teaching, part reflection and part devotion. It was compiled from the conversations and with slight editing presented as a cohesive and easily approached and engaged work.

The chapters in this volume are:
A Note to Readers
Preface by Pope Francis: Pray to the Father
Our Father
"I Will Not Leave You Orphans"
Who Art in Heaven
Fathers and the Our Father
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Prayer in the Work of Salvation
Thy Kingdom Come
The Kingdom of God Needs Our Participation
Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven
Mary's Total "Yes" to the Will of God
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Feed the Hungry
And Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us
Training for Giving and for Forgiveness
And Lead Us Not into Temptation
The Foundation of Our Hope
But Deliver Us from Evil
The Weeds Amid the Good Wheat
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer of Grandparents Is a Treasure
Afterword by Marco Pozza: An Our Father Among the Imprisoned

I did really enjoy this book. But Wish it had been more in depth. The physical book is listed as 144 pages and the eBook edition as 113. But even with formatting that is generous. The book can easily be read in a single sitting. You could choose to read it in such a fashion or take each section and read them on consecutive days on daily devotions over three weeks. In the chapter Fathers and the Our Father, Pope Francis states:

"The first thing needed is this: that the father be present in the family. That he be close to his wife, to share everything, joys and sorrows, hardships and hopes. A father needs to be close to the children as they grow up; when they are playing and when they are working on a task; when they are carefree and when they are troubled. He needs to be there when they are outgoing and when they are withdrawn; when they are daring and when they are fearful; when they make a misstep and when they get back on track; the father must be present, always. Being present does not mean being in control! Because fathers who control too much are crushing their children, they are not letting them grow up."

This was one of the most impactful paragraphs. Especially when considering the afterwards and Marco Pozza's ministry in prisons, and the men there trying to turn around their lives.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and I am thankful that I read it. But comparing it to some of Pope Francis's other writings some of the themes are similar and will feel familiar. But still worth the read.

This book was a really short read. It took me about an hour to read the entire thing. There were some interesting points that made what I have always called The Lord’s Prayer, seem a little deeper and I was able to put parts of it in a new context that I hadn’t previously thought about, but I didn’t gain as much as I had hoped for. I found myself confused more than inspired.

I am not a Catholic so some of the things were a bit different for me. As a Lutheran, I knew there would be some differences; I have attended Catholic churches for weddings and baptisms before so I thought I was prepared. As I mentioned before, we call it The Lord’s Prayer, Catholics call it the Our Father. That took some getting used to but wasn’t a big deal. Then he kept mentioning The Mother; I guess that is the church, but it’s foreign to me, so there were probably some points that I wasn’t able to understand based on not being familiar with the terminology.

The one thing that really bothered me was that this would be reading like a regular book, and then suddenly there would be a question being proposed to Pope Francis. There wasn’t any preamble to the question or mention of who was proposing the question; I got confused about who was actually “speaking” in the text I had been reading. There would also be paragraphs, or sections where a story was given apparently by the ghost writer, and Pope Francis then commented on the story, it was very confusing. The copy I have is an advance edition so I hope in the final they separate the parts for who is speaking, and clarify who it is. Nowhere in the title, on the book, Goodreads.com, or Amazon.com does it give another authors name, so when suddenly someone else started “speaking”, it was puzzling.

*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.*

I am not Catholic but I have enjoyed this Pope and his messages! I find I relate and understand his messages better than any pastor, father, or priest in my past. And it was a privilege to have gotten to read this one before the Lent and Easter season. It is one I will return to again and again. I will be purchasing many copies for family and friends also. I look forward to the next book by Pope Francis and the message within!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

For transparency: I am not Roman Catholic. I do not recognize the Pope in any way as head of the church. I was interested in this book because of his recent comments on the Lord's Prayer, and desiring a change to the 6th petition ("And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..."). All things said and done, I wouldn't recommend this book to a single soul. It's a ton of hot air akin to Jesus Calling and will certainly soon pass from memory completely. There are far better, and more orthodox, books on prayer.

Pope Francis recently made comments about the Lord's Prayer that sent the media abuzz when he suggested that there are better ways to render the line "lead us not into temptation," recognizing that it is not God who tempts. This well-timed book provides more depth to his claim, as well as a line-by-line commentary of the whole prayer. The Pope provides application, encouragement, and challenges to the contemporary reader.