When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how they should pray, He responded by teaching them the Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father. The Catholic Church continues to teach this fundamental Christian prayer nearly 2,000 years later.
The prayer begins by showing the intimate relationship that Christians have with God with the privilege of calling Him “Father”. This is followed by seven petitions as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. St. Luke’s Gospel includes a shorter version.
Recognizing God’s glory and that even his name is holy, the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer asks that his name be sanctified, or hallowed, by the prayers of all people and his saving works in their lives.
In the second petition, Catholics pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God here and now in their everyday lives, while also looking forward to God’s reign when Jesus returns in glory at the end of time.
By praying, “thy will be done” in the third petition, Christians commit themselves to following Jesus by taking up their own crosses. They pray for their will on Earth to be conformed to God’s will in Heaven.
The fourth petition acknowledges the Father’s Divine Providence. “Our daily bread” refers to the spiritual nourishment of the Holy Eucharist, as well as the Word of God and all that is necessary to sustain human life.
In the fifth petition, Catholics ask God to forgive them for the times they failed to love God and neighbor. The prayer acknowledges that receiving the Father’s mercy requires Christians to show mercy toward others.
By asking not to be put to the test Christians are asking not to be led into temptation. The sixth petition asks that the Father not allow them to follow a path that leads to sin and help them to avoid any near occasion of sin.
The final petition of the Lord’s prayer asks God for his protection from evil, specifically Satan, the fallen angel whose only mission is to keep people from getting to Heaven by leading them to sin by division, deception, and temptation.
The first three petitions of the Lord’s prayer focus on on God’s glory while strengthening the virtues of faith, hope, and love. The last four petitions ask for God’s grace and mercy in providing material and spiritual needs.
The greatest of Christian prayers:
We get to call God “Father”:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. This is how you are to pray: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6: 7-13
How Jesus teaches us to pray:
Every type of prayer in one prayer:
A lesson on how to pray:
Proper prayer fits into the Our Father:
Jesus prayed like all men and women in the world pray. Yet his way of praying also contained a mystery, something that certainly did not escape the eyes of his disciples, since the Gospels contain that plea that was so simple and immediate: “Lord, teach us to pray”. They see Jesus praying and they want to learn how to pray: “Lord, teach us to pray”. And Jesus does not refuse, He is not possessive of his intimacy with the Father, but rather, He came precisely to introduce us to this relationship with the Father. And thus, He becomes the teacher of prayer to his disciples, as He undoubtedly wants to be so for all of us. We too should say: “Lord, teach me to pray. Teach me”.
Pope Francis, General Audience, 5 December 2018
Speaking boldly with a daring prayer:
A revolutionary prayer:
The traditional expression “the Lord’s Prayer” – Oratio Dominica – means that the prayer to our Father is taught and given to us by the Lord Jesus. The prayer that comes to us from Jesus is truly unique: it is “of the Lord.” On the one hand, in the words of this prayer the only Son gives us the words the Father gave him: He is the master of our prayer. On the other, as Word incarnate, He knows in his human heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us: He is the model of our prayer.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2765
Praying as members of God’s family:
A prayer of community:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Sisters working together:
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