When the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ asked, “Lord, teach us how to pray,” this is the prayer He taught them.
PATER NOSTER,
Qui es in caelis,
sanctificetur Nomen Tuum.
Adveniat regnum Tuum.
Fiat voluntas Tua
sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dinmitte nobis debita nostra sicut
et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem,
sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.
OUR FATHER,
Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptations,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
In the Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 11, the disciples of Jesus Christ ask him to teach them how to pray. St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner to Christ, and cousin of our Lord Jesus, was popularly mistaken to be the Messiah, even though he denied it publicly. As a teacher of faith, John taught his disciples how to pray to God in spirit and truth. Driven by this, the disciples of Jesus request Jesus to do the same. And so, our Lord gives us one of the simplest yet one of the most beautiful prayers that we can pray.
2 Jesus said to His disciples, “When you pray, say,
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
A “fuller” version of this prayer is found in chapter 6 of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
9 “Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.”
The “Our Father”, or “Pater Noster” in Latin, is one of the most important formulaic prayers inspired by Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. Colloquially known as “The Lord’s Prayer”, “Oratio Dominica” in Latin, it is dubbed so because Christ gave this prayer to His disciples (and not because He prayed it Himself, as is mistaken). A fundamentally Christian prayer, the Our Father is perhaps the first “formulaic” prayer taught to every person new to the Catholic faith. It is quite central to the prayer life of Catholics everywhere, and is recited by Christians more often than any other prayer.
The importance of the Lord’s Prayer is not overstated. The Didache, an Early Christian document said to summarise the teachings of the Twelve Apostles of Christ, directs the Faithful to pray using the words of Christ Himself. In chapter 8, Concerning Fasting and Prayer, we read:
“But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week; but fast on the fourth day and the Preparation (Friday). Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil); for Yours is the power and the glory forever.’ Thrice in the day thus pray.”
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (A.D. 155 – A.D. 220), one of the Early Church’s most prolific authors, considered by some as the “father of Latin Christianity”, implored the Christians of his time to add personal petitions in the own words, after they had laid a foundation of customary prayers during their meetings. He makes a veiled mention of the Lord’s Prayer in De Oratione:
“Since, however, the Lord, the Foreseer of human necessities, said separately, after delivering His Rule of Prayer, Ask, and you shall receive; and since there are petitions which are made according to the circumstances of each individual; our additional wants have the right – after beginning with the legitimate and customary prayers as a foundation, as it were – of rearing an outer superstructure of petitions, yet with remembrance of the Master's precepts.”
Origen Adamantius of Alexandria (A.D. 184 – A.D. 255), another highly influential Early Christian scholar and theologian, also wrote a treatise called De Oratione, which dissects and offers commentary on the different prayers found in Holy Scripture. In chapter 12 and chapter 13, Origen keenly examines the texts of the Lord’s Prayer as found in the Gospel accounts of St. Matthew and St. Luke.
It must be noted that both Tertullian and Origen spent the latter years of their lives excommunicated from the Church, the former for the heresy of Montanism, and the latter for a collection of problematic teachings known as Origenism. However, they were among the most influential Christian authors of their time, having contributed significantly in their early years as Christians. And they wrote about the Lord’s Prayer.
Following these, St. Cyprian of Carthage (A.D. 200 – A.D. 258), Early Church Bishop and writer, makes an excellent case for Christians praying in the words of Christ Himself. In paragraph 7 of his Fourth Treatise On the Lord’s Prayer, the Saint writes,
“These things, beloved brethren, when we have learned from the sacred reading, and have gathered in what way we ought to approach to prayer, let us know also from the Lord’s teaching what we should pray. Thus, says He, pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven so in earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And suffer us not to be led into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.”
In chapter 9, St. Cyprian goes on to write,
“But what matters of deep moment are contained in the Lord’s prayer! How many and! How great, briefly collected in the words, but spiritually abundant in virtue! so that there is absolutely nothing passed over that is not comprehended in these our prayers and petitions, as in a compendium of heavenly doctrine.”
Indeed, the Lord’s Prayer is an excellent starting point for catechesis. Each sentence and phrase contained within is rich in doctrine and theology.
A Doctor of the Early Church, St. Ambrose of Milan (A.D. 337 – A.D. 397) wrote extensively on Christian theology, gives us a most beautiful exposition of the Lord’s Prayer in his work De Sacramentis. In Book 5, chapter 4, St. Ambrose writes:
“Now, what remains save prayer? And think not that it is a matter of little worth, to know how to pray. The holy Apostles said to the Lord Jesus: Lord teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. Then the Lord says a prayer, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And let us not be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Thou seest how short the prayer is and full of all excellencies! What grace in the first word!”
Like St. Cyprian of Carthage before him, St. Ambrose found such depth and wonder in the Lord’s Prayer. In fact, in De Mysteriis, St. Ambrose argues that the Lord’s Prayer is a power tool for catechesis, however, it must be reserved for instruction after a person has been newly initiated into the Church. This is because St. Ambrose held the Lord’s Prayer – and the divine mysteries it brought to light – in Sacred Trust. For a person must first be given faith, and then utter the words of the Lord’s Prayer and learn from it.
In the manner of his contemporary St. Ambrose, St. John Chrysostom (A.D. 345 – A.D. 405), known as the “most prominent Doctor of the Greek Church and the greatest preacher ever heard in a Christian pulpit”, also commented extensively on the Lord’s Prayer. In this nineteenth homily on Matthew, In Mattheum, St. John Chrysostom explores the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. In this homily the Greek Doctor presents to us the model of personal and community that Christ has given us.
These great authors of the Early Church are followed by St. John Cassian (A.D. 345 – A.D. 405) in Conferences, St. Peter Chrysologus (A.D. 345 – A.D. 405) in his Sermons, St. Maximus the Confessor (A.D. 345 – A.D. 405) in Orationis Dominicae expositio. Indeed the Lord’s Prayer was held in high regard by all Christians.
What makes the Lord’s Prayer particularly important to the Christian life is that it provides us with a framework for all prayer.
The Prayer begins, first and foremost, with acknowledging the Lord, and His place in our lives.
Our Father, Who art in heaven. This statement is a reminder for us all that God is our Father: our common Source and our Creator. We come to Him as sons and daughters wholly dependent on Him. He knows what we need and what is best for our lives.
Hallowed be Thy name. We come before our Father recognising the Lord’s holiness, which in turn prompts us to ponder how far we have fallen from His grace. We bring to Him our praise and worship and honour, which He rightfully deserves.
Thy Kingdom come. He is Sovereign over all of Creation. All power and glory belongs to Him. As sons and daughters of God, we desire for Him to have dominion over our lives.
Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. We come before the Father in humility, with a sacrifice of broken hearts. While we bring before Him our needs and desires, like Jesus Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed, saying, “Father, let not my will, but Thy Will be done.” It also speaks for the Christian’s desire to see all of mankind return to God.
Having enthroned the Lord, we then place before Him our supplication, in faith.
Give us today our daily bread. The Christian believes in Divine Providence, knowing that God gives us all that we need. As Christ teaches us in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. For Christ has exhorted us to love even those who sin against us, and to forgive them over and over again, even in the face of death. As children of God, we pray that the Lord looks at our mercy and not our failures, and that we do the same with one another.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We pray for grace to withstand temptation, or to flee from it, and that the Lord may be our strength in our weakness. This is the Christian’s continual challenge: to live in the world, but not be of the world. And thus we implore God to be our protection against Satan and his minions in the world, for in God there is no sin, and He sanctifies us through the Most Holy Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
After the Signum Crucis, the Pater Noster is arguably the most important prayer a Christian can run to in times of need. When we are short of words, when our faith is shaken, or when we simply are too overwhelmed with the noise of sin and temptation, the Pater Noster is there for us. Above all, the words “Our Father, Who art in heaven” is a daily reminder that through our faith and our baptism in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we are now brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, adopted sons and daughters of the Father. We are no longer slaves to fear; we are children of God.