Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
“Father, may your name be honored”

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus invites us to draw near to God who is beyond human understanding, who dwells in mystery, who is all holy. We can call God "our Father". 

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

“May your Kingdom come soon”

In the Lord's Prayer we pray that God's kingdom come, that God's will, which is for our good, be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread.

“Give us our food day by day”

We are God's children. What can be more childlike than this petition in which we pray for our daily bread, a word that describes all those physical, human and spiritual gifts we need to live. With the confidence of children we say: "Give us this day what we need." 

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

“And forgive us our sins just as we forgive those

who have sinned against us”

Not only do we ask God's forgiveness for our daily offenses, but we link God's forgiveness of us with our forgiveness of others. Forgiving others is not always easy to do. We need God's help to do it. But it must be done or we ourselves cannot receive God's mercy. 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

“And don’t let us yield to temptation”

Life is not easy. It is a daily battle. Trials like sickness and failure can crush our spirits. False values and easy promises can entice us and even destroy our souls. And so we ask God to keep us from failing when we are tempted by Satan, to help us to know the right thing to do, to deliver us from the evil which awaits us in life. 

The Lord's Prayer sums up the teaching of Jesus. It is also a prayer that offers the grace of Jesus: his reverence for God, his childlike confidence in his Father, and his power to go bravely through life no matter what comes. When we pray his prayer, his spirit becomes our own.