Today's Gospel reading invites us to trust God. Whenever we pray we should have underpinning our prayer the conviction that God wants our happiness and will answer any petition with the loving diposition of the best of parents. In the developmental psychology of Erik Erikson Trust/Mistrust is the first stage of our development as human beings. Coming from the womb we need first to trust that our parents will be there for us. We also need to mistrust that which is wrong or dangerous to us. In this way we are enabled to start our journey of development on a sound footing. Not only that, once I have navigated my way through the other stages: Autonomy, Industry, Identity, Intimacy, Generativity and Integrity, Trust/Mistrust is also the last stage. The questions that arise in my mind are: do I trust God?; have I bonded with God and accepted him as the one to guide me in my life and watch over me?; do I have an adequate aversion of those things I need to avoid that are damaging to me?; am I fundamentally optimistic about myself and life in general?; do I let anxiety and fear dominate me?; how ready am I to die and what will I have to say to the Lord when I meet him face to face? All of these questions are valid for us at any stage of life yet every time we say the Our Father we give an answer to them. We place our trust in the Father, acknowledging him to be holy, just and forgiving and pray that he "give us this day our daily bread."
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