The Lord's Prayer (Our Father)

The Prayer Christ Himself Taught

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them this (Matthew 6:9-13; a shorter form appears in Luke 11:2-4). The Catechism calls it "truly the summary of the whole Gospel" (CCC 2761) and devotes its longest single treatment — CCC 2759 to 2865 — to unpacking its seven petitions. It is prayed at every Mass, immediately before the Sign of Peace, and forms the backbone of the Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours.

For a phrase-by-phrase look at the Latin Pater Noster and its theological depth, see the companion article in this category, "The Our Father in Latin." This page gives the everyday English text used at Mass and in daily 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.

Helper

1. The seven petitions move from God's glory ("hallowed be thy name") to our daily needs ("our daily bread") to our moral life ("forgive us... as we forgive").
2. The line "as we forgive those who trespass against us" is the only petition Jesus comments on immediately afterward (Matthew 6:14-15) — our own forgiveness of others is bound up in this prayer.
3. Praying it slowly, one phrase at a time, is itself a short form of lectio divina — see that article in this category.