THE MEANING OF THE “OUR FATHER” LINE BY LINE

THE MEANING OF THE “OUR FATHER” LINE BY LINE

21 Dec

“The Lord’s Prayer [the ‘Our Father’] is the most perfect of prayers… In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them” (Thomas Aquinas, cf. CCC 2763).

OUR FATHER:

We can invoke God as “Father” because he is revealed to us by his Son. When we pray the Our Father we personally address the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; we recognise that all his promises of love are fulfilled in the new and eternal covenant in Jesus Christ. We have become his people and he is henceforth our God (cf CCC 2780, 2787, 2789).

WHO ART IN HEAVEN:

Heaven does not refer to a place but to God’s majesty and his presence in the hearts of the just. Heaven, the Father’s house, is the true homeland towards which we are heading and to which we already belong (cf. CCC 2802, 1 Jn 5:1).

HALLOWED BE THY NAME:

When we say “hallowed be thy name”, we ask that his Name should be sanctified by us and in us, and also in every nation and person (cf. CCC 2814, 2858; Ezek 20:9, 14, 22, 39; 1 Cor 6:11; Lev 20:26; Jn 17:11).

THY KINGDOM COME:

Refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ’s return. The Kingdom will come in glory when Christ hands it over to his Father. We also pray for the growth of the Kingdom of God in our own lives today (cf. 2816, 2818, 2859; Rom 14:17; Tit 2:13).

THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN:

We ask insistently for the will of God (fulfilled in Christ) to be fully realised on earth as it is already in Heaven. Jesus teaches us that one enters the Kingdom of Heaven not by speaking words but by doing the “will of my Father in Heaven” (Mt 7:21). By prayer we can discern “what is the will of God” and obtain the endurance to do it (Rom 12:2; cf. CCC 2823, 2824, 2826; 2 Pet 3:9; Mt 18:14; Heb 10:17).

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GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD:

“Bread” refers to the earthly nourishment necessary to everyone for subsistence and also to the ‘bread of life’ that is, the Word of God and the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist (material and spiritual food). “This day” not only refers to that of our mortal time but also the ‘today’ of God. Even when we have done our work, the food we receive is still a gift from our Father. (CCC 2830, Jn 6:26-58).

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US:

Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their Father and of humans with one another: “so also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Mt 18:23-35). With the example and help of Christ every Christian can forgive even his/her enemies (CCC 2842, 2844).

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION:

We ask God not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle between flesh and spirit. This petition implores the spirit of discernment and strength (cf. CCC 2846; Gal 5:21, Mt 6:21, 24; 1 Cor 10:13).

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL:

The last petition to our Father is also included in Jesus’ prayer: “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15). When we ask to be delivered from the evil one, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world (cf. CCC 2850, 2854; Jn 8:44; Rev. 12:9; Jn 5:18-19).

SOURCE: prayers4reparation.wordpress.com

The Our Father, or Lord's Prayer, Explained

The question of, “How do we pray?” is one that is often asked and one that was posed thousands of years ago by the disciples. In Luke 11:1-4, when one of Jesus’ disciples ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray,” Jesus replied by giving us the prayer that we recite countless times throughout our lifetime — the Our Father, also known as The Lord’s Prayer.

​What is the Lord's Prayer?

Jesus instructed His disciples and us to:

"Pray, then, in this way"

• 1. Our Father, Who art in heaven
• 2. Hallowed be Thy Name
• 3. Thy Kingdom come
• 4. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven
• 5. Give us this day our daily bread
• 6. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
• 7. And lead us not into temptation
• 8. But deliver us from evil.
• 9. Amen.

Reflecting on the Meaning of the Lord's Prayer

This short prayer takes a mere 15-20 seconds to say, yet is filled with incredible meaning. If ever there was a prayer that summarized our faith and what’s expressed in the Gospels, the Our Father is it. On his reflection on this prayer, St. Cyprian of Carthage, a third century bishop wrote, “My dear friends, the Lord’s Prayer contains many great mysteries of our faith. In these few words there is great spiritual strength, for this summary of divine teaching contains all of our prayers and petitions.”

​If you’ve been a practicing Catholic since you were little, you’ve been reciting this prayer more times than you can count. Like anything we do repeatedly, saying this prayer silently or out loud becomes second nature.

It’s important to remind ourselves to stop and reflect on the words we are saying. With the help of religious scholars and clergy, let’s take a closer look at what each line means, and how we can apply this prayer to our lives. Because as Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “The meaning of the Our Father goes much further than the mere provision of a prayer text. It aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus.”

If ever there was a prayer that summarized our faith and what’s expressed in the Gospels, the Our Father is it.

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Pope Benedict XVI

The meaning of the Our Father goes much further than the mere provision of a prayer text. It aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus.

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1. Our Father, Who art in heaven

​We start this prayer by professing our core religious belief that God is our heavenly Father—the one who is all knowing and all powerful. Notice that Jesus didn’t instruct us to say, “My Father” but stressed “Our Father.” Scripture scholar John Meier explains that in God’s kingdom, we don’t live as isolated individuals but “we experience God’s fatherhood as members of the church, the family of Jesus the Son.” This reminds us that we recognize all those around us as children of God and treat them accordingly.

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2. Hallowed be Thy Name

Hallowed is another word for holy or sanctified. When we say “hallowed be Thy name,” we are not only telling God “I recognize that you are holy,” but more importantly, we’re asking that His name be recognized by everyone throughout the world as being the ultimate holy power—that one day (sooner rather than later) all will know Him to be righteous, powerful, and everyone’s one true God.

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3. Thy Kingdom come

​This petition has a two-fold meaning. First, we are asking that God’s kingdom (where there’s only goodness, honesty, and love for one another) surround us in our everyday life. Secondly, we are praying for the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise that He will return at the end of time and grant us eternal life.

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4. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven

​We pray these words asking for God’s grace to move us to do His will throughout our life. That means doing all the things that will please our Father — even the difficult things, whether it’s something big such as moving an elderly parent into our home or volunteering our time once a week at the soup kitchen, to something as small as giving up a parking space or not calling a best friend to spread some juicy gossip. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says, “In committing ourselves to [Christ], we can become one spirit with him, and thereby accomplish his will…”

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5. Give us the day our daily bread

​Here we’re recognizing that all things we need come to us from God. We’re asking that God continue to give us not only the food we need for nourishment, but also the Bread of Life, the Eucharist.

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6. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us

​This is a tough one. It may be easy for us to ask God to forgive us our “trespasses” or sins, but God in his infinite wisdom teaches us that in order for Him to forgive our wrongdoings, we must first forgive those who’ve hurt us. God isn’t being difficult, rather He’s teaching us that when there is bitterness and anger in our hearts, there’s no room for His love to fill our hearts. How can we ask God to be merciful and forgive our sins, if we’re holding a grudge or refuse to forgive someone who’s wronged us? Forgiving someone is often easier said than done. Only God can give us the strength to do it through prayer.

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7. And lead us not into temptation,

​Temptation and sin go hand in hand. When we come face to face with temptation, it can sometimes be difficult to resist. That’s why we need our Father to set up the road blocks and lead us far from the path of temptation.

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8. But deliver us from evil.

​Evil is an unfortunate reality in our world. The devil is always trying to tempt us and makes it his full-time job to look for ways to steer us from the right path and onto the wrong one. The devil has no power over God and when we pray to God for protection against all that is evil, He will shield us — always.

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There are many moving prayers that we can say, but when it comes to one prayer that takes the main aspects of our faith and summarizes them in several short lines, the Our Father is the perfect prayer.

SOURCE:  catholicfaithstore.com

What Is the Meaning of the Lord's Prayer?

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by Scott P. Richert

Scott P. Richert is senior content network manager of Our Sunday Visitor, the world's largest English language Catholic publisher. He has written about Catholicism for outlets including Humanitas and Catholic Answers Magazine.

Updated January 19, 2019

The Lord's Prayer is a common name for the Our Father, the prayer that Christ taught to His disciples when they asked Him how to pray (Luke 11:1-4). The name "The Lord's Prayer" is used more often today by Protestants than by Catholics; however, the English translation of the Novus Ordo Mass refers to the recitation of the Our Father as the Lord's Prayer. The prayer is also known as the Pater Noster, after the first two words of the prayer in Latin.

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 temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Meaning of the Lord's Prayer, Line by Line

The best way to understand the Lord's Prayer is to break it down line by line. If something seems confusing, you can always consult an authoritative source such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which explains the prayer in detail.

Our Father: God is "our" Father, the Father not only of Christ but of all of us. We pray to Him as brothers and sisters to Christ, and to one another.

Who art in Heaven: God is in Heaven, but that does not mean that He is distant from us. He is exalted above all of Creation, but He is also present throughout Creation. Our true home is with Him.

Hallowed be thy name: To "hallow" is to make holy; God's Name is "hallowed," holy, above all others. But this isn't simply a statement of fact—it's a petition to God the Father. As Christians, we desire that all honor God's name as holy, because acknowledging God's holiness draws us into the right relationship with Him.

Thy kingdom come: The kingdom of God is His reign over all mankind. It is not simply the objective fact that God is our king, but also our acknowledgment of His reign. We look forward to the coming of His kingdom at the end of time, but we also work toward it today by living our lives as He wishes us to live them.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven: We work toward the coming of the kingdom of God by conforming our lives to His will. With these words, we petition God to help us know and carry out His will in this life, and for all mankind to do so as well.

Give us this day our daily bread: With these words, we petition God to provide us with everything that we need (rather than want). "Our daily bread" is that which is essential for everyday life. That does not mean simply the food and other goods that keep our physical body alive, but that which nourishes our souls as well. For that reason, the Catholic Church has always seen "our daily bread" as a reference not only to everyday food but to the Bread of Life, the Eucharist—Christ's own Body, present to us in Holy Communion.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us: This petition is the most challenging part of the Lord's Prayer because it requires us to act before God responds. We have asked Him already to help us know His will and to do it; here, we ask Him to forgive us our sins—but only after we have forgiven the sins of others against us. We beg God to show us mercy, not because we deserve it but rather because we do not; but we must first show mercy toward others, especially when we think that they do not deserve it.

And lead us not into temptation: This petition seems puzzling at first, because we know that God does not tempt us; temptation is the work of the devil. Here, knowledge of the Greek word translated into English as "lead" is helpful. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, "the Greek means both 'do not allow us to enter into temptation' and 'do not let us yield to temptation.'" A temptation is a trial; in this petition we ask God to keep us from entering into trials that test our faith and virtue, and to keep us strong when we must face such trials.

But deliver us from evil: The English translation again hides the full meaning of this final petition. The "evil" here is not just bad things; in the Greek, it is "the evil one"—that is, Satan himself, the one who tempts us. We pray first not to enter into Satan's trials, and not to yield when he does tempt us, and then we beg God to deliver us from Satan's grasp. So why is the standard translation not more specific ("deliver us from the Evil One")? Because, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, "when we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator."

The Doxology: The words "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever" are not actually part of the Lord's prayer, but a doxology—a liturgical form of praise to God. They are used in the Mass and the Eastern Divine Liturgy, as well as in Protestant services, but they are not properly part of the Lord's Prayer, nor do they have to be included when saying the Lord's Prayer outside of Christian liturgy.

source:  https://www.learnreligions.com