I haven't said/thought about the Lord's Prayer since my grandfather's funeral 5 years ago. No, I don't believe that this is some sign from the Heavens, instructing me to go back to church. What this is, is the product of the years of my Catholic childhood - where they drilled certain rituals into your wee little heads from a very young age. It's proof of exactly how resilient and pliable children's brains are. The fact that, at *cough* 31 *cough*, I can still recite a good many prayers without even thinking about it is proof of just how remarkable our brains are, as well as the fact that it is incredibly important to fill your children's brains with things of substance while they are young. I mean, think about it. What are the things you remember from growing up? 25 years later, I still remember various prayers/hymns, as well as my first address, home phone number, and various numbers of friends whom I haven't spoken to in almost as long. The only reason I can remember my last cell phone number is because I used it as a reference to look up gas rewards memberships and other crap like that.
What brought about this spoken-word earworm? I'm writing a paper on Rotter's Expectancy-Reinforcement Value Model and decided to use the trigger-word "trespass" in reference to those who bully a particular individual. And now for the next day or two, I will constantly be reciting the Lord's Prayer in my head. There's a good message in the LP - forgive others and be greatful for what you have (though most "Catholics" recite this prayer just as numbly and automatically as I do. The message seems to be lost on a good many of them, anyway) - but since I am not Catholic, and because frankly organized faith makes me uncomfortable - having it stuck in my head is less than ideal.
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