There was once a priest, who, traveling through a certain neighborhood, noticed a little boy tending a flock of sheep on a lonely mountain. He couldn't help but be drawn by the young shepherd’s thoughtful and devout appearance. So, the good priest walked over to visit with him.

"My child" he began pleasantly, "I am sure you must feel very lonely all day here by yourself."

"Oh no, Father," said the boy, "I am not at all lonely. I am always busy."

The priest was glad to hear that the long, tedious days on the mountain were not dreary labors for the child. But he wondered what a little boy, with no one but sheep to keep him company, could do to keep himself occupied for hours on end.

So the priest simply asked, "And what is it you do which keeps you so busy?"

"I will tell you, Father." said the little shepherd, "I have a beautiful prayer that I say, and it keeps me occupied all the day."

"It must surely be a very long prayer, my child, since it takes you all day to say it."

"No, Father. On the contrary, it is very short, and yet I can never reach the end of it. It is so beautiful, so sweet, that it makes my heart full of joy."

"And what is that beautiful prayer which is so short and yet so long?" asked the curious priest.

"It is the Our Father." said the child, "but when I say the first words of it, 'Our Father Who art in Heaven', I come to a full stop, and can get no farther."

"Why not?"

With simple and wonderful sincerity, the boy replied.

"Because I cannot help crying when I think of these words. 'Is it possible', I say to myself, 'that I can call God my Father? God Who is so great and so powerful, Who made the beautiful sky and the bright sun, and these lofty mountains, and all the universe?' And yet I know that it is quite true, and that He allows me, a poor shepherd-boy, to call Him by that sweet name of Father, while He on His part loves and cherishes me as if I were His only child. When I think of all this, I begin to weep, and cannot get on with my prayer."

The boy then turned around and pointed over the valley. He wanted to direct the priest's attention to a particular spot in the distance.

"Father, do you see there below, between those two trees far away behind the third hill, that little village with only a few houses? Well, it is there where I live, and my father is the poorest man in it. But just think that I can call God my Father as truly, and be as much loved by Him, as if I were the richest gentleman in the city. I am a child of God just as much as he is."

The priest was deeply touched by this obscure little boy's true and tender devotion to Almighty God. Trying to control his emotion, the good man encouraged the boy in his true piety.

"My child, do as you have been doing, and God will bless you and love you."

Then the priest continued his journey. But the young shepherd had left a deep impression on him. So many people the priest had known had prayed this same simple, but beautiful prayer, just as often as the boy did. But how many of them thought about it as much or as well as this child did?

God did not give us the prayer to recite it like poetry from school. He composed the words Himself that we may think about them - and in thinking of them, come to know Him. Anyone that really knows God for Who He is cannot help but love Him, and in loving Him seek to make Him happy by serving Him. Our loving Heavenly Father wants this from us, so that we may show our love for Him and prove ourselves worthy of His love for us. In this way, as His children, we will earn our greatest and eternal happiness - the joys of Heaven, His home and our true home! Let us then give God all of our confidence and love, for He always and only desires the very best for His children, as a true and good father does.