The Our Father

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, among His other saving precepts, gave to His disciples, on that day when they asked Him how they ought to pray, this form of prayer, which we are about to repeat to you, and explained in all its fullness. Let your charity, therefore, now hear how the Savior taught His disciples to pray to God the Father almighty. When thou shalt pray, He said, enter into thy chamber; and having shut the door, pray to thy Father. Here, by the chamber, He means not a room, but the interior of the heart, which is known to God alone. By saying that we ought to adore God after having shut the door, he signifies that we ought to shut out, with a spiritual key, all bad thoughts from our heart, and speak to God in the purity of soul, though our lips may be closed. What our God hears, is not the sound of our words, but our faith. Let our heart, then, be shut, with the key of faith, against the craft of the enemy; let it not be opened except to that God, whose temple we know it is; and the Lord, dwelling thus in our heart, will be propitious and grant our prayers. The prayer taught us by the Word, the Wisdom of God, Christ our Lord, is this:

Our Father, Who art in heaven

Observe these words, how full they are of holy liberty and confidence. Live, therefore, in such manner, that you may be children of God, and brethren of Christ. Of what rashness would he be guilty who dared to call God his Father, yet prove himself to be degenerate by opposing God’s will! Dearly beloved children, show yourselves to be worthy of the divine adoption; for it is written: “To them that believe in His name, He gave power to be made the sons of God.”

Hallowed be thy name

It is not that God, who is ever holy, needs to be hallowed by us; but what we here ask is that His name be sanctified in us; so that we, who have been made holy by the Baptism He has given us, may persevere in the new being we have received from Him.

Thy Kingdom Come

Our God whose kingdom is forever, does He not always reign? Yes, undoubtedly; but what we ask for,

when we say, Thy Kingdom come, is the coming of that kingdom which He has promised us, and which Christ has merited for us by His Blood and Passion.

Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven

That is to say: May Thy will be in such manner fulfilled, that what Thou willest in heaven, may be faithfully accomplished by us who are on earth.

Give us this day our daily bread

We mean, by this, our spiritual food; for Christ is our bread, as He said: “I am the living Bread that came down from heaven.” We say our daily bread, because we ought unceasingly to ask to be made free from sin, in order that we may be made worthy of the heavenly nourishment.

And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us

These words signify that we cannot merit the forgiveness of our sins, unless we first forgive what others do against us. Thus it is that Our Lord says in the Gospel: “If you will not forgive men their offences, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.”

And lead us not into temptation

That means to suffer us not to be led into it by the tempter, by the author of evil. For the Scripture says: “God is not the tempter of evil things.” It is the devil that tempts us: and that we may overcome him, the Lord says to us: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.”

But deliver us from evil

These words refer to that which is said by the apostle: “We know not what we should pray for.” We should beseech the one only and omnipotent God, that the evils which we cannot avoid because of human weakness, we may avoid in virtue of that help which will mercifully be granted us by our Lord Jesus Christ, who, being God, liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen

(The Liturgical Year. Dom Gueranger, OSB, 1949)