Our Father Prayer
The Our Father, also called the Lord's Prayer, is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him how to pray. It is the foundational prayer of Christianity, prayed at every Mass, at every Rosary, and by Catholics around the world every day.
About the Our Father
The Our Father is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus introduces it as a model for all prayer, contrasting it with empty repetition and showing what authentic prayer to God looks like. The prayer has seven petitions: hallowing God's name, asking for his Kingdom, asking for his will to be done, asking for daily bread, asking for forgiveness, asking to be led away from temptation, and asking for deliverance from evil.
The traditional English form — beginning Our Father, who art in heaven — dates to the 16th century and is in the public domain. It is the form most English-speaking Catholics know by heart. The prayer is called the Lord's Prayer because it was given by the Lord himself.
The Structure of the Our Father
St. Thomas Aquinas taught that the Our Father is the most perfect of prayers because it contains everything we could rightly pray for. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 2759-2865) devotes an entire section to the Our Father, calling it the summary of the whole Gospel.
When to Pray the Our Father
The Our Father is prayed at every Mass, at the beginning of each decade of the Rosary, in the Liturgy of the Hours, and as a daily personal prayer. Jesus taught it as the model for all prayer.
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.
Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13 (Luke 11:2-4). Traditional English form, 16th century. Public domain.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Our Father prayer?
- The Our Father, also called the Lord's Prayer, is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him how to pray. Found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, it is the foundational prayer of Christianity and is prayed at every Mass.
- What does the Our Father mean line by line?
- The prayer has seven petitions: hallowing God's name (acknowledging who God is), asking for his Kingdom to come, asking for his will to be done, asking for daily bread (physical and spiritual sustenance), asking for forgiveness while committing to forgive others, asking not to be led into temptation, and asking for deliverance from evil.
- What is the Padre Nuestro?
- Padre Nuestro is the Our Father prayer in Spanish. It begins Padre nuestro, que estás en el cielo — Our Father, who art in heaven. The prayer is the same in all languages, translated from the original Latin and Greek.
- Why is the Our Father called the Lord's Prayer?
- The Our Father is called the Lord's Prayer because it was given by the Lord himself — Jesus Christ — when his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-4).
- Is the Our Father traditional form public domain?
- Yes. The traditional English form beginning Our Father, who art in heaven dates to the 16th century and is fully in the public domain. It is the form most English-speaking Catholics know by heart and is used at Mass and in the Rosary.
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