Thomas Aquinas

Thus therefore shall you pray. Above, the Lord taught the manner of praying, namely that we should avoid both the vanity of hypocrites and the much-speaking of the Gentiles; here he teaches what we ought to ask for in prayer, and concerning this he does two things: first the title of the prayer is set down, second the prayer itself is proposed. He continues from what precedes thus: I have said, praying, do not use much speech, etc.; therefore, as you were speaking in few words, so shall you pray. And note that the Lord does not say: this shall you pray, but: thus shall you pray; for he does not forbid that we might pray with other words, but he teaches the manner of praying. And as Augustine says in the book On Prayer to Proba: no one prays as he ought unless he asks for some one of those things which are contained in the Lord's Prayer. Now it is fitting that we should pray with these words because, as Cyprian says in the book On the Lord's Prayer, it is a friendly and familiar thing to ask the Lord using his own words, and he gives the example that it is customary among advocates to put words into the mouths of those whom they represent, which they ought to say in the court. Hence this prayer is most secure, as one formed by our own advocate, who is most wise, in whom are all treasures (Colossians 2:3). Hence Cyprian says: since we have Christ as advocate with the Father for our sins, when we ask for our offenses let us bring forward our advocate's own words. 1 John 2:1: we have an advocate. Therefore it is said in Hebrews 4:16: let us approach with confidence, etc.; James 1:6: but let him ask in faith. And this prayer has these three things: brevity, perfection, and efficacy. Brevity, for two reasons: so that all might easily learn it, both small and great, since he is the same Lord over all, rich (Romans 10:12); second, so that it might give confidence of easily obtaining. It is also perfect, hence Isaiah 10:23: a shortened word; and, as Augustine says, whatever can be contained in other prayers is wholly contained in this one; hence he says that if we pray fittingly and rightly, whatever words we may use, we say nothing other than what is set down in the Lord's Prayer; Deuteronomy 32:4: the works of God are perfect. It is efficacious, because prayer, according to Damascene, is the asking of fitting things from God; James 4:3: you ask and do not receive. Now to know what ought to be asked for is most difficult, just as also what ought to be desired, Romans 8:26: for we do not know what we should pray for, but the Spirit himself, etc. And because God himself taught this prayer, it is therefore most efficacious, and hence it is said in Luke 11:1: Lord, teach us. Now in this prayer the Lord does two things: first he sets down the prayer, second he assigns the reason for the prayer, at the words: for if you forgive. It should be known that in every prayer, even the prayers of rhetoricians, before the petition goodwill is sought. Hence, just as happens in a speech that is made to men, so likewise ought to happen in a prayer that is made to God, but with a different intention in each case, because in a man goodwill is sought insofar as we bend his mind toward us, while in God it is sought insofar as we lift up our own mind to him. The Lord therefore sets down two things for the securing of goodwill which are necessary for one who prays: for it is necessary that he believe in the one from whom he asks, and that this one wills to give and is able to give; and therefore he says: Father, who art in heaven. Now that he says Father serves five purposes. First, for the instruction of faith: for faith is necessary to one who prays. Now there were three errors by which prayer was excluded: two of them destroyed prayer entirely, and the third granted more than it ought; and these are excluded by his saying: Our Father. For some said that God has no care for human affairs, Ezekiel 9:9: the Lord has forsaken; hence according to this it would be in vain to ask anything of God. Others said that God has providence, but that this providence imposes necessity upon things. The third error granted more, for it said that God arranges all things by his providence, but that through prayer the divine disposition is changed. Now these errors are excluded by his saying: Our Father who art in heaven, because if he is Father, he has providence, Wisdom 14:3: but you, Father. Likewise the second error is excluded: for Father is said in relation to a son, and Lord in relation to a servant; therefore in that we say Father, we call ourselves free. For nowhere almost in sacred Scripture is it found that God is called the father of insensible creatures, although otherwise Job 38:28: who is the father of the rain? Therefore Father is said in relation to a son, and by this we call ourselves free: for the son has the character of freedom; therefore necessity is not imposed upon us. Now by his saying in heaven, a mutable disposition is excluded. And prayer serves this purpose, that we may believe that God so disposes all things as befits the natures of things: for it is from providence that man, through his own acts, attains his end; hence prayer neither changes providence nor is outside providence, but falls under it. First, then, it serves for the instruction of faith. Second, for the raising up of hope: for if he is Father, he wills to give, since, as below in chapter 7:11, if you, being evil, etc. Third, for the arousing of charity: for it is natural that a father should love his son and conversely, Ephesians 5:1: be imitators; and therefore by this we are called to imitation, for the son ought to imitate the father as much as he can, Jeremiah 3:19: you shall call me Father. Fourth, we are called to humility, Malachi 1:6: if I am a father. Fifth, by this our affection is ordered toward our neighbor, Malachi 2:10: is there not one father of all. But why do we not say: my Father? There is a twofold reason: first, because Christ wished to reserve this to himself as his own proper right, since he is Son by nature, while we are sons by adoption, which is common to all, John 20:17: I ascend to my Father, etc.; second, because, according to Chrysostom, the Lord teaches us not to make private prayers but to pray in common for the whole people, which prayer indeed is more acceptable before God. Hence Chrysostom: sweeter before God is the prayer which is offered not out of necessity, but out of charity, etc. James 5:16: pray for one another, etc. The second thing that pertains to the securing of goodwill is: who art in heaven. This is explained in two ways. First according to the letter, that we should understand the bodily heavens; not that he is enclosed there, since Jeremiah 23:24: do I not fill heaven, etc., but it is said on account of the eminence of that creature itself, according to Isaiah, the last chapter (66:1): heaven is my throne. Likewise by this those are instructed who cannot be raised up above bodily things, and therefore Augustine says that this is the reason why we pray facing the east, because the heaven rises from the east; and just as the heaven is above our body, so is God above our spirit; hence it is given to be understood that our spirit ought to be turned toward God himself, just as our body is turned toward the heaven itself in praying. Now he says: who art in heaven, so that your intention may be lifted up from earthly things, 1 Peter 1:4: unto an inheritance that fades not away. Or by the heavens are understood the saints, according to Isaiah 1:2: hear, O heavens, Psalm 21:4: but you dwell in the holy place, etc.; and he says this for greater confidence of obtaining, because he is not far from us, Jeremiah 14:9: you are in us, O Lord. Hallowed. Here the petitions are set down, and let us discuss them first in general, afterward in particular. In these petitions we ought to consider three things: for petition serves desire, since we ask for those things which we wish to have; now in this prayer is contained the whole of whatever we can desire; second is contained the order in which we ought to desire; the third is that these petitions correspond both to the gifts and to the beatitudes. Now it should be known that man naturally desires two things, namely to attain the good and to avoid evil. Four goods are set down here as to be desired. Now desire tends first toward the end rather than toward those things which are means to the end; and the ultimate end of all things is God; hence the first thing to be desired ought to be the honor of God, 1 Corinthians 10:31: do all things for the honor of God; and this we ask for first here: hallowed be your name. Now among those things that pertain to us, the ultimate end is eternal life; and this we ask when we say: your kingdom come. The third thing we ought to ask for is concerning those things which are means to the end, namely that we may have virtue and good merits, and this is at the words: your will be done; and what we ask concerning the virtues is nothing other than this. Therefore our beatitude is ordered to God, the virtues to beatitude. But it is necessary to have support, whether temporal or spiritual, such as the sacraments of the Church, and this we ask at the words: our bread, whether the exterior or the sacramental bread. In these four all good is contained. Now man avoids evil insofar as it is an impediment to good. But the first good, namely divine honor, cannot be impeded, because if justice is done, God is honored, and if evil is done, he is likewise honored insofar as he punishes it, although he is not honored to the extent that the sinner is concerned. But sin impedes beatitude, and therefore this he removes first when he says: and forgive. Temptation is opposed to the good of the virtues, and therefore we ask: and lead us not; any failure whatsoever against the necessity of life, and this is: but deliver. It is clear, then, that whatever is desired, the whole of it is contained in the Lord's Prayer. And it should be known that the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be applied to these petitions, but in different ways, since either ascending or descending: ascending, so that the first petition is applied to fear, which produces poverty of spirit and causes one to seek the honor of God, and therefore we say: hallowed be; descending, so that we should say that the last gift, namely wisdom, which makes sons of God, is applied to this petition. But it must be considered concerning this petition: hallowed be. Now it seems to be unfitting: for the name of God is always holy. And it should be known that this is explained in many ways by the saints; first by Augustine, and I believe that this is the more literal sense: hallowed be, that is, may the name which is always holy appear holy among men; and this is to honor God: for from this no increase of glory accrues to God, but to us the knowledge of him, Ecclesiasticus 36:4: as in our sight, etc. And quite fittingly, after: Our Father who art in heaven, he says: hallowed be, because nothing so proves sons of God: for a good son manifests the honor of his father. According to Chrysostom: hallowed be, through our works, as if to say: make us so to live that from our works your name may appear holy, 1 Peter 3:15. Or according to Cyprian: hallowed be, that is: sanctify us in your name, John 17:17: sanctify them in your name, Isaiah 8:14: and he shall be unto you. And it should be known that first hallowed be is understood so that those who are not holy may become holy: for this prayer is made for the whole human race; second, hallowed be, that is, may they persevere in holiness; third, hallowed be, so that if anything of admixture is in their holiness, it may be removed: for daily we need sanctification on account of our daily sins.

Thy kingdom come. This petition can correspond either to the gift of understanding, which cleanses the heart, or to the gift of piety. Thy kingdom come. According to Chrysostom and Augustine, the kingdom of God is eternal life, and I believe that this is the literal exposition; we ask, then, that it come, that is, make us arrive at and participate in eternal beatitude, below in chapter 25:34: come, you blessed, Luke 22:29: I appoint unto you a kingdom. Or otherwise, also according to Augustine: thy kingdom come, Christ began to reign from that time when he redeemed the world, John (Matthew 28:18): all power is given to me; let thy kingdom come, then, that is, may the consummation of your kingdom come. And this will be when he shall put his enemies under his feet; hence thy kingdom come, that is: Lord, may you come to judgment so that the glory of your kingdom may appear, Luke 21:28: when these things begin to come to pass, etc. And the saints desire the coming of Christ, because then they will possess perfect glory, 2 Timothy 4:8: and not only to me but also to those, etc.; but the contrary is said (Amos 5:18): woe to those who desire the day of the Lord, because only, according to Jerome, it belongs to a secure conscience not to fear the judge. Or thy kingdom come, that is, may the kingdom of sin be destroyed, and may you, Lord, reign over us: for when we serve justice, then God reigns, but when we serve sin, the Devil reigns; Romans 6:12: let sin not therefore reign in your, 1 Kings 8:7: it is not you they have rejected. And note that they could quite justly ask that your kingdom come, who had proven themselves sons by saying: Our Father, etc.: for to sons is owed an inheritance; but this kingdom is in heaven, hence you cannot go there unless you become heavenly. And therefore he consequently adds: thy will be done, that is, make us imitators of the heavenly ones, 1 Corinthians 15:49: as we have borne. And note that he does not say: your will be done, as if to say: may God do our will, but rather as if to say: may his will be fulfilled through us, he who wills all men to be saved, 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Psalm 142:10: teach me to do; in which the error of Pelagius is destroyed, who said that we had no need of divine help. As in heaven. This is explained in many ways by Augustine. First thus: as in heaven, that is, just as the angels in heaven do your will, so may we on earth fulfill your will; of the angels it is said, Psalm 102:21: his ministers who do; in which the error of Origen is destroyed, who held that an angel could sin. Or otherwise: thy will be done as in heaven, so also on earth, that is, as in Christ, so also in the Church. For the earth is made fruitful by heaven: hence also the Gentiles said that the gods of the heavens were male, those of the earth female; John 6:38: I came down from heaven. Or by the heavens are understood the saints, whose conversation is in heaven; and such as is the proportion of heaven to earth, such is that of the saints to sinners; as if to say: Lord, convert sinners to doing your will. Or thy will be done, etc.: for just as heaven is compared in the world to earth, so is the spirit to the flesh in man; the spirit, so far as it is in itself, does the will of God, but the flesh resists, Romans 7:23: I see another law, Psalm 50:12 (Vulgate): create in me a clean heart. All these petitions are begun in part here, but will be fulfilled in the future. Chrysostom, however, refers this, namely as in heaven, to all the preceding petitions; hence: may your kingdom come as in heaven, so also on earth, and so of the others. Likewise, according to Chrysostom, note that he did not say: let us hallow, nor: may you hallow, but in a middle way; nor did he say: let us go to the kingdom, but: may it come. Thus in all the petitions he kept to the middle way, and this because for our salvation two things are required: the grace of God and free will; hence if he had said: hallow, he would have given no place to free will; if: let us make, he would have given the whole to free will, but he spoke in a middle way both here and: thy will be done, etc.

Give us this day our bread. After he had taught us to ask for the glory of God, eternal life, and the working of the virtues by which we merit eternal life, here he teaches us to ask for all the things that are necessary for the present life. Now this, our bread, is explained in four ways: for it can be explained of a fourfold bread. First, of the bread which is Christ, John 6:35: I am the bread, etc., who is especially bread according as he is contained under the sacrament of the altar, John 6:52: the bread which I will give, and again (6:56): my flesh is truly food. And he says: our, because it is not everyone's but that of the faithful, Isaiah 9:6: for a child is given to us; for from the fact that someone becomes a member of Christ in Baptism, he can partake of this bread; and therefore it ought in no way be given to unbaptized unbelievers. Supersubstantial. Jerome says that in the Greek it is epiousion, and Symmachus translated it: special or excellent; but the ancient translation has: daily. Now that it is supersubstantial, that is, above all substances, is evident from Ephesians 1:20: setting him above all principality, etc. He calls it daily, because it ought to be received daily, but not by everyone; hence it is said in the book On Ecclesiastical Dogmas: I neither commend nor blame this. But it ought to be received daily in the Church; or at least let it be received spiritually by the faithful daily through faith. Now in the Eastern Church it is not received daily in church, because Mass is not celebrated daily there, but only once in the week. But since the Church tolerates this, it suffices that they receive it spiritually daily, and not sacramentally. Give us. If it is ours, how does he say: give us? Cyprian: give us, that is, make us live in such a way that we may be able to receive this bread to our benefit; hence he who asks this asks for nothing other than perseverance in good, namely that nothing contrary be mixed with holiness, 1 Corinthians 11:29: for he who unworthily, etc. Our bread give us this day. Here Augustine raises an objection, because this prayer is said at any hour whatsoever of the day, even at Compline; do we then ask at that time that he give us to receive this bread? But it must be said that today is understood in two ways: for sometimes it signifies a determinate day, sometimes the whole of the present life; Hebrews 3 touches on the determinate today; hence: give that throughout the whole present life we may be able to partake of this bread. And he fittingly says: give us this day, because this sacramental bread is necessary only in this life: for when we shall see him as he is, we shall not need sacraments and signs. Hence this singular and peculiar bread is necessary only in the present life; and now we receive it daily in a special way, but then continually. Second, by bread is understood God, namely the divinity itself, Luke 14:15: blessed is he who shall eat bread, Psalm 78:25: man ate the bread of angels. Give, then, the supersubstantial bread this day, that is, that according to the manner of the present life we may be able to enjoy him. Third, the precepts of God can be understood, which are the bread of wisdom, Proverbs 9:5: come, eat; for he eats here who keeps the precepts of wisdom, John 4:34: my food is. These divine precepts are now bread, because with a certain difficulty they are chewed over by consideration and by practice, but afterward they will be drink, because they will refresh without difficulty. Fourth, bodily bread is understood according to the letter. For the Lord had said: thy will be done, and had wished that in the fulfilling of the divine will we should be heavenly; but mindful of our frailty, he teaches us to ask also for temporal things which are necessary for the sustaining of life; hence he does not teach us to ask for magnificent or superfluous things, but for necessary ones, 1 Timothy 6:8: having food, etc.; thus Jacob asked, Genesis 28:20: if you will give me bread to eat. Now he says our, for two reasons. So that no one should appropriate temporal things to himself, according to Chrysostom: first, because no one ought to eat bread got by plunder, but from his own labor; second, because the temporal goods that are given for necessity we ought to receive in such a way that we share them with others, Job 31:17: if I have eaten my morsel. And Augustine says, in the book On Prayer to Proba, that from that which excels and is principal among all particulars, according to our capacity, is signified the whole: for bread is more necessary to man, Ecclesiasticus 29:28 (Vulgate): the principal thing for man's life; and this is: supersubstantial, because it pertains principally to necessary things. But if you say: daily, then it has a twofold sense, according to Cyprian. First, so that you should not seek temporal things for a long time to come, because otherwise you would be contrary to yourself: for you have said: thy kingdom come; but as long as we are in the body we are pilgrims from the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6); hence, in saying: thy kingdom come, and asking for a long life, you are contrary to yourself. Or he says daily against the prodigal, who spend to excess and do not confine themselves to the daily bread that suffices for one day's sustenance. But if it is ours, why does he say give us? For two reasons, according to Chrysostom. First, because temporal goods are given both to the good and to the evil, but in different ways: to the good for their benefit, to the evil for their harm, because they misuse them; hence to the evil it is not given, because they abuse it, and this happens not from God but from the Devil. And he says that it is similar to the case of someone who offers bread to a priest so that he may sanctify it, and afterward asks it back; he could say: give me the bread which is mine by possession, give it to sanctification. He says this day, because he did not wish us to ask for a long time to come. But Augustine raises a question here, because the Lord in what follows teaches us to have no anxious care for temporal things: hence, be not solicitous, etc.; therefore it seems that we ought not to pray for temporal things. And he answers that concerning every licit desirable thing we may pray, because we look for the desirable thing from God, and what we look for from God we may ask for; and this not only in extreme necessity but also for a fitting state for oneself. But it is one thing to desire, another to be anxious about something as about one's ultimate end, because this the Lord forbids, as will be said below. But again a question is raised concerning this: give us this day, because it seems that we ought not to desire except for one day; therefore all who desire otherwise sin, and then human life would perish, since no one would gather the harvest in summer in order to eat in winter. And it must be said that the Lord does not intend to forbid that someone should think about future things, but he forbids that one should take upon himself anxiety before its time: for if care presses upon you now, this you ought to attend to, but not that care which might press upon you in time to come.

And forgive us. Here he begins to set down the petitions that pertain to the removal of evil, and first he sets down that by which the chief evil is removed, namely of fault, hence: and forgive us. It is repugnant that a man who lives from the things of God should live against God. Sins are debts, because for our sins we are obligated to God by debt: for if you have received something unjustly from another, you are bound to restitution; and because when you sin you usurp what is God's, since it is God's that every will should be regulated according to the will of God, therefore you take away what is God's and are bound to restitution; but you pay when you endure something against your own will according to the will of God, below in chapter 18:32: I forgave you all that debt. Forgive us, then, our debts, that is, our sins, Psalm 38:14 (Vulgate): forgive me, that I may be refreshed. By this word two heresies are refuted, namely that of Pelagius and that of Novatian. Pelagius said that some perfect men in this life could live without sin and fulfill that word of Ephesians 5:27: that he might present a glorious Church; but if this were so, then we would not say forgive, Proverbs 24:16: a just man falls seven times; 1 John 1:8: if we say that we have no sin. Novatian said that a man who sins mortally after Baptism cannot do penance; but if this were so, then we would say forgive in vain, John 1:12: he gave them power to become sons of God, namely through the adoption of grace. As we also forgive our debtors. Now debtors can be of two kinds: either because they have sinned against us, or because they owe us money; but he does not admonish us that we should forgive this second kind of debt, but sins of whatever kind, even in the taking away of temporal goods: for it would be unworthy to ask pardon from God and not grant it to a fellow servant, Ecclesiasticus 28:3 (Vulgate): does a man keep anger against a man, (Ecclesiasticus 29:2 [numbering as in the text]): and again, forgive your neighbor, etc. But what is to be said of those who are unwilling to forgive and yet say Our Father? It seems that they should never say it, because they would be lying; hence it is said that some used to omit that clause: as we also. But this is disproved by Chrysostom in two ways: first, because he does not keep to the form of the Church in praying; second, because the prayer is not acceptable to God when it does not keep to what Christ dictated. Hence it must be said that one does not sin in saying Our Father, however much he may be in rancor and grave sin, because such persons ought to do whatever good they can, both almsgiving and prayers and such things as dispose toward the recovery of grace; nor does he lie, because this prayer is not offered in one's own person but in that of the whole Church, and it is agreed that the Church forgives the debts of all who are in the Church; but such a one loses the fruit, because only those obtain the fruit who forgive. But it seems that not only those obtain the fruit who forgive offenses. But it should be known that Augustine resolves this, as far as the present matter is concerned, in this way: that concerning the love of enemies it was said above that God wills us to forgive offenses in the same measure in which he himself forgives us our faults; but he forgives only those who ask; and therefore whoever is so disposed that he is ready to grant pardon to one who asks, such a one does not lose the fruit, provided that in general he holds no one in hatred, as was said above.

And lead us not. Here he sets down another petition. Another reading has: and do not bring us in; and another: and do not allow us; and this is the explanation of the former: for God tempts no one, although he permits one to be tempted. And he does not say: do not allow us to be tempted, because temptation is useful, and one is tempted so that he may become known to himself and to others, he who is already known to God, Ecclesiasticus 34:9 (Vulgate): he who has not been tempted; but he says: and lead us not, that is, do not permit us to succumb, as if someone were to say: I wish to be warmed by fire but not to be burned up, 1 Corinthians 10:13: God is faithful, who will not suffer, etc. In this account the error of Pelagius is refuted as to two points: for he said that man could persist by free will without the help of God, which is nothing other than not succumbing to temptation; likewise he said that it does not pertain to God to change the wills of men; but if this were so, he would not say: and lead us not into temptation, which is the same as: make us not consent; therefore it is in his power both to change the will and not to change it, Philippians 2:13: it is God who works in you. But deliver us. This is the last petition: deliver us from evil past, present, and future, of fault and of punishment, and from every evil. Augustine: every Christian, in whatever tribulation, pours out these words in tears and utters them with groaning, Psalm 58:2 (Vulgate): deliver me from my enemies; Isaiah 51:12: who are you that you should fear. Amen, that is, so be it. This word no one has wished to interpret, out of reverence, because the Lord frequently used it. In this is given security of obtaining, provided that what has been said is kept. It should be known that in the Hebrew three words are added, which Chrysostom explains: the first is: for thine is the kingdom, afterward: and the power and the glory. Amen; and these seem to correspond to the three things set down before: thine is the kingdom, to the words: thy kingdom come; power, to: thy will be done; glory, to: Our Father, and to all the other things that pertain to the honor of God. Or otherwise, as if to say: you can do these other things because you are king, and therefore no one else can; thine is the power, and therefore you can give the kingdom; thine is the glory, and therefore, Psalm 113:1 (Vulgate): not to us, O Lord, not to us, etc.

For if you shall forgive. The Lord had added a certain condition in the prayer, namely: forgive; but this condition might seem burdensome to someone there; and therefore the Lord shows the reason for it, and concerning this he does two things: first he shows that this condition is useful, second that it is necessary. It is useful because through it we obtain the remission of sins, and this is: for if you shall forgive men their sins which they have sinned against you, he will forgive, etc., which you have sinned against him, Ecclesiasticus 28:2 (Vulgate): forgive your neighbor. But note that he says: if you shall forgive men; for men, so long as they live innocently, are gods; but when they sin, they fall into the human condition, Psalm 82:6 (Vulgate): I have said, etc., afterward (82:7): but you, etc.; therefore you who are gods and spiritual, you will forgive sinful men. Likewise note that he says: your Father, etc.; for the offenses which occur according to men occur on account of some earthly thing; whereas, on the contrary, heavenly men, who have a Father in heaven, ought to have no discord on account of anything earthly, Luke 6:36: be merciful. This condition is also necessary, because without it there is no remission of sins, hence: but if you shall not, etc.; nor is it a wonder, because no sin can ever be forgiven without charity, Proverbs 10:12: all faults; for he who holds hatred against one is not in charity, and therefore his sin is not forgiven him, Ecclesiasticus 28:3 (Vulgate): man keeps anger against man, James 2:13: judgment without mercy. But someone might believe that, since it is so that the offense must be forgiven, therefore the Church sins when she does not forgive. It must be said that if that person asks for pardon, she would sin if she did not forgive; but if he does not ask, then she does not forgive either out of hatred, and thus she sins, or for the good of that person or of others, namely so that the evil may not be repeated, and thus she does not sin.