The Lord’s PrayerThe Lord’s Prayer
“Our Father”“Our Father”
In the CatholicChurch werecognise God asour Father, theFather in the Trinity,and we are Hischildren, so weaddress him asFather toacknowledge thisand to showrespect.
“who art in heaven”“who art in heaven”
We are grantingthat God resides inHeaven, andtherefore areaddressing ourprayer to ourFather who lives inHeaven.
“hallowed be thy name”“hallowed be thy name”
We areconsecrating thename of God andthis is a sign ofrespect for God.We sign that Hisname is to bemade Holy.
“your kingdom come”“your kingdom come”
This is saying thatGod’s kingdomshall be displayedon Earth throughthe actions ofChristians.
“your will be done”“your will be done”
This statement in theprayer coincides with thelast line. We are saying weas Christians will do his willon Earth. This is for theJew’s benefit; they wereexpecting a politicalkingdom to free themfrom Roman rule, butwhen Jesus said this hewas cementing the factthat God will provide akingdom with us united,not a tangible kingdom onEarth.
“on Earth as it is inHeaven.”“on Earth as it is inHeaven.”
This is comparing how his will be done onEarth to how it is in Heaven. We are sayingwe will do our best to work his will just as wewould in his kingdom itself.
“Give us this day ourdaily bread”“Give us this day ourdaily bread”
We are asking God for help, recognisingthat in our faith we know that God will notforget our struggles that are day-to-day.
“and forgive us ourtrespasses”“and forgive us ourtrespasses”
It is extremely important in our faith to askGod to reconcile our sins.
“as we forgive those whotrespass against us”“as we forgive those whotrespass against us”
We also recogniseand pray for thestrength and help ofGod to allow us toforgive others oftheir wrong doingstowards us.
“and lead us not intotemptation”“and lead us not intotemptation”
We areasking Godto not leadus intowrong-doing.
“but deliver us from evil.”“but deliver us from evil.”
By saying this, we ask God to steer us andsave us from the doing of Satan.
“Amen.”“Amen.”
We close a prayer by saying Amen. “Amen”can mean “so it be”.
