Do you know the origin of the Our Father? Know everything here

El Our Father is the most famous prayer among Christians, it was used by Jesus to instruct people how to pray. Reciting it reminds people of God's magnanimity and through the following article you will be able to learn much more about this prayer, what its meaning is, origin and how to learn to pray to achieve direct communication with the creator.

What is the Our Father?

The Our Father comes from the Latin Pater Noster. It is the name given to the most recited prayer by Christians and, as mentioned at the beginning, said prayer was given by Jesus of Nazareth to his loyal fans.

At least, this is what is related in the gospels of Mateo y Lucas. Although it should be mentioned that there are discrepancies in the explanation of the facts, as well as in the context of the sentence and that is why there are different versions, which will be discussed later.

Now, for Catholics, the Our Father is the prayer that perfectly sums up their doctrine; For Protestants it is simply the example of what Christian prayers should be and for Orthodox people, such a prayer is magnificent.

It is important to mention that there is still a similarity that manages to relate this Christian prayer with Jewish and Islamic prayers, which will be explained much better later in this article. Therefore, it should not be forgotten that Jesus it was present in the solemn customs of the Jewish religion, from which Christianity arose.

Background of the Our Father

Before delving into the subject, it should be mentioned that primitive men began to turn into gods all those aspects and/or elements that they did not understand, which is why many said that their gods were rain, wind, love and others. . The connection with all these elements of nature was what gave rise to what we know today as religions.

Judaism in particular meant a big step in this time when the vast majority of ancient peoples practiced polytheism. Which means, they took all the gods and worshiped them as one. Consequently, Judaism managed to develop a cult where prayer became a protagonist, since it was the most affective way of approaching the gods.

So that the origin of the Our Father prayer can be understood a little more, the ceremonial customs in ancient times will be explained, as well as the way in which Christians prayed in ancient Rome and Greece.

Ceremonial customs in the Ancient Age

In ancient times, each culture communicated with the gods using ceremonial words, this was a way of getting in touch with them as if they were really people listening and responding, this form of communication for them meant praying. When referring to Greco-Roman religion, it is said that there was a relationship between praying to deities and family gods.

When deities are mentioned, reference is made to Jupiter, Neptune, among others and the prayers that were recited for these gods were full of different types of somewhat complicated ceremonies, which had a lot of display to denote their greatness and importance.

Now, these deities were considered distant, so it was not appropriate to make an effort to dialogue with them. Since, as they had a great size and power, the safest thing was that they were not going to listen and the most sensible thing was not to make them angry so as not to feel their fury.

In relation to the family gods, which come from the ancestors, the prayer method was completely different. When these people felt that they had some kind of problem, they approached their gods to ask for advice and protection. The relationship with these gods was much closer and a more real conversation could be held. This is because somehow an unconditional love arose towards these protective gods.

When referring to Christianity, this congregation of people was made much larger thanks to believers who did not have a Jewish origin. Since at that time it was believed that these people belonged to a sect. Which turns out to be completely different today, as Jews are considered to be Christians with a great sense of courtesy.

prayer of the gentiles

To begin with this topic, we must first explain that the God of Abraham at the beginning of the doctrine of Judaism he is not represented as if he were the only God of all men. He also does not consider himself to be a deity of a particular aspect or element such as wind, earth, etc. much less was he the God of a specific people, as some were at that time of great importance thanks to his divine manifestation.

Due to the growth of the memories of Israel, said God would become a God of a specific people, however, God was not a dependent being, which would result in people thinking that Israel did not have special gods, but simply they worshiped only one God, but no matter that he chose the people of Israel to be his God, he was really that of all other peoples.

This people made the connection with God through all the prophets. The best known to all at this time was Moses and, as is well known, this son of Israel was the only one who could establish direct communication with God. The other prophets who did it, they did it, but using meditation and through the angels.

It is important to note that the people of Israel are significantly identified by prayer, it is said that even Jews who were not very believers knew many of the existing prayers. Even today, the contact that this people has with God is related on a large scale through prayers.

Jewish prayer examples

Among the best-known Jewish prayers, one can be found called Amide, which has the meaning "On foot". This prayer is about 18 requests that every Jew prayed daily. Even today they keep it and many put it into practice.

This prayer is 12 times longer than the Sunday prayer even though the latter has an extended version. In the prayer of the 18 petitions, "God" is close to the person who prays it. Said God is portrayed as a compassionate and fair defender with his people.

Another sentence found is Shema Israel, which means "Hear Israel." The purpose of this prayer is that it be prayed every day in order to fully capture its essence. The message it conveys is the following: Since God is unique, then he deserves a unique love, which does not have any kind of divisions or cracks.

Finally found the prayer Abinu Malkenu, this prayer has the same context as the Our Father, but in Hebrew. His name symbolizes the Our Father, Our King. When people prayed this prayer they were begging God to grant them a life full of blessings.

The Early Church and the Our Father

It is very important to reiterate again that Jesus he grew up and lived his life under Jewish spirituality. That is why, in the different gospels, there are cited passages from the sacred texts of Judaism that speak of Jesus during all that time he was dominated by the Torah. Which deals with the first books of the Hebrew Bible, which have all the laws and heritage of the Jews. It is said that these books were written at the initiative of Moses.

The Christians handled the hypothesis that this God could be shown to any person without making any type of distinction. Said God represented a people to which anyone could join and, when in the writings it was said that anyone could belong to this "people", they were talking about the Church. It is even said that this is why the various Christian designations call themselves "The New Israel."

It is considered important to mention that the first people who decided to be Christians claimed that they belonged to the Jewish people. They had the custom of praying in the prayer centers for those who wished to have a greater connection with God and they also paid a lot of respect to the Torah.

Now, according to the 1st Council of Jerusalem, which is related in chapter 15 of the book of Acts of the Apostles, the Jews who joined Christ they had no need to comply with the Torah that was taught in Israel.

The Our Father is crucial at this point, since at the moment when Christians decide to separate from Judaism, said doctrine had to obtain its own analogy and of course the main attribute they had was Jewish spirituality, which is summarized in the prayer . This is why, then, that Christianity should seek its own prayer so that other people would not believe that it was just another type of sect.

The sentence that would be chosen was going to be the greatest attribute that could frame a great difference between what they called the “New” town and the “Old” town. Although at this point in the story it was not yet known what the real difference was between the Jews and the first people who turned to Christianity.

Now, these founding people of Christianity had a great admiration for Sunday prayer, which was not taught to just anyone. People who could pray that prayer, it was because they had already received baptism, it was even the last thing they were taught. In other words, Sunday prayer was a highly prized treasure of that faith.

The ancient Christians who belonged to the churches of Africa made the decision to take their occupation of the faith, in the Sunday prayer. The occupation of faith is a type of exposure of beliefs, a good example that can be brought up is the Nicene Creed or symbol of Latin and Eastern Catholicism. People who wanted to be baptized had to know perfectly the meaning of the prayer.

In the primitive churches, enunciating the Our Father was left for the indicated moment, just when the celebration reached the cusp, at said celebration and according to some Christian terminologies, it is known as a mass. These people had a special formula that preceded the moment to enunciate the prayer and in this way they expressed respect to him. In the cults of the Eastern churches, before saying the prayer they pronounce the following words:

"Please, O Lord, grant us that joyfully and without recklessness, we dare to invoke you, heavenly God, as a Father..."

And then the Our Father begins. In relation to the Roman cults, the cleric gave the prelude to prayer by saying the following phrase:

“Dare we say”

And there the whole congregation begins to pray the Our Father. All this was done to recognize the audacity that exists in repeating such a sacred prayer for Christians. In case you want to know another prayer spread by Jesus to get closer to God and have his protection, it is recommended to read the prayer to the Just Judge.

The Our Father in the Gospels

As everyone knows, in both Gospels it is the Jesus who educates the apostles so that they can pray correctly. History teaches that these apostles trusted him enough to follow him and learn from his wisdom, as well as to trust each and every one of his teachings.

It must be taken into consideration that Jewish devotion was quite inflexible, loaded with very specific rituals and prayers. The apostles, according to their dogma, saw the Eternal Being as the regent of everything that exists, so the relationship they had with him was something very special, so they asked Jesus to teach them how they should address Him.

Gospel of Matthew

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus he had already begun to preach. Because at a certain point, he was already well known among the people, he began to gather them in order to impart all his knowledge. In order to share his wisdom, it seemed to him that the best place to do it was a mountain, which all the people could hear him without problems.

Now, much of the catechesis that Jesus imparted is based on the following evangelical texts: The Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12), The comparison of the disciples with the light of the world (Mt 5:14-16), The attitude of Jesus with respect to the Law of Moses (Mt 5:17-20) and his comments on the commandments (Mt 5:21-37). In addition, there was a great deal more teachings that Jesus shared and that were really essential for Christians, let's see next.

Gospel of Luke

In the story of Lucas, the prayer of the Our Father is manifested in a specific part that is called "The trip to Jerusalem". This section is anticipated by the section of the "Parable of the Good Samaritan" (Lk 10:30-37) and by the episode of the "Dispute between Martha and Mary" (Mt 10:38-42). This text talks about Jesuss is in a place praying quietly and completely alone.

The disciples saw him so concentrated that they never dared to disturb him. Therefore, when they saw that he had finished conversing with the Eternal, they approached him and asked him to teach them how to pray correctly, as well as Juan taught his disciples.

Once you Jesus listened to their request, did not hesitate at any time to show them what they were asking for and patiently enunciated the Our Father, but it was a less extensive interpretation than the version of Mateo. According to the Bible of America, it has 5 requests and then you can read that prayer, quoted verbatim:

«Father, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; give us each day the bread we need; forgive us our sins, because we also forgive everyone who offends us; And do not let us into temptation." (Luke 11:2-4).

Similarities between the Gospel of Luke and Matthew

The gospel of Lucas relates that one of the apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, this after having seen him in contact with God. In the Gospel of Mateo, there is no mention of said request, the teaching of the Our Father to the apostles is an initiative on the part of Jesus.

Differences between the Gospel of Luke and Matthew

First of all, you have the invocation. In the Gospel of Lucas, God is invoked only as Father and in the Gospel of Mateo, is invoked as "Our Father who art in Heaven». By Lucas, the plea he makes is not shown Jesus that the will of God be carried outOn earth as it is in heaven» finally also in Lucas, there is no mention of the plea “Deliver us from evil".

However, the purpose of the gospels is exactly the same, they are based on the fact that Jesus He taught the disciples how to address God in the right way. What must be emphasized is that Mateo explains the events in a much deeper and broader way.

Regarding the Gospel of Mateo, it should be clarified that the Our Father turns out to be more vehement. This because at the time Jesus teaches the prayer, he finds himself on a mountain surrounded by a large number of people, who are very excited to hear his every word.

Finally in the Gospel of Lucas, Jesus it is represented in a much more spiritual way. This is denoted because he explains that he is praying alone, while one of the apostles is astonished to see him pray and, waiting for him to finish, ask him to teach them how to do it.

Conjectures of the differences between Matthew and Luke

Three conjectures are handled in relation to the differences between the Gospels of Mateo y, Lucas. Taking into consideration that Jesus came to pronounce the Our Father prayer only once, the following comes up:

first guess

Such differences in how the circumstances of the teaching of prayer came to be are due to variations in the way the story was transmitted over the years. However, the question remains as to which of the two gospels is the more primitive.

second guess

Due to the above, another conjecture arises as to whether the Gospel of Lucas has all the original narration, since if the text of Lucas is the primitive, so the Christians at the time of spreading the prayer to the different people had to have digressed in some details.

third guess

This hypothesis posits that Jesus pronounced the Our Father on many occasions and assures that the two Gospels of Lucas y Mateo are correct, because prayer was of paramount importance to Jesus and also because he considered that it was a great advance that his disciples knew it, so he repeated it many times so that they could learn it perfectly, without having to forget a word when it was their turn to repeat it to spread it.

This third conjecture is a response to the difference that exists between the narration of the teaching of the Our Father in the Gospel of Lucas y Mateo. Now, it is now taken for granted that the differences between the two narratives are marginal and that the Early Church in those days leaned more towards the Mateo. The most certain thing is that it was due to the fact that the narration of Mateo it was much more ornate and categorical.

Today and even having the different scientific methods that allow us to get to know the truth of some event, this fact is somewhat complicated to verify far beyond these Gospels. With the video shown below you can understand a little better the origins of the Our Father:

The Our Father in Greek

It should not go unmentioned that many of the Gospels were recorded in the dialectal form of Greek. More specifically, they can be found in Koiné, which is also known as Alexandrian or Hellenistic Greek, which is recognized as Greek in the New Testament.

Now, to better understand Koiné was an international language of the Eastern Mediterranean. For this reason, it is valid to mention that practically all the contexts of the New Testament were documented using Koiné, since it is said that this language was used to spread the doctrine of Christianity.

final doxology

It will begin by explaining that the last part of any prayer is known as the final doxology. This is a kind of formula used to praise the glory of God. Example:

“Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever Lord. Amen"

By enunciating this formula, the person who is praying is manifesting the complete recognition that God is a universal being, to whom no beginning or end can be found. Today there are a large number of people who still believe that this formula is real. But on the other hand, there are those who claim that it is just an added text that does not fulfill any function.

In the catechism that is taught by the Catholic Church, it is explained that a final doxology was included in the Our Father prayer because the devil, who is known as the prince of the world, assigns himself that he is the one who provides power, glory and royalty. While Christ makes the Father responsible for all these blessings, because it is really He who grants them.

This doxology was included in the mass, but at the same time it was separated from the rest of the Our Father prayer, because it is taken as the supplication by the priest.

The origin of this doxology dates back to the second and third centuries of the Christian era, according to Joachim Jeremiah, who was one of the greatest teachers of biblical exegesis of the 29th century. This said that the prayer of the Our Father could not end with the word "evil". So the church took the initiative to add such a doxology, which was based on Chronicles 11:13-XNUMX.

This theologian and scholar also affirms that this doxology is not found explicit in the gospels of Lucas, much less in the oldest codices (Sinaitic, Vatican, Alexandrian). However, other experts say that this doxology was part of the Our Father from the beginning.

Catholic Analysis of Prayer

The Catholic interpretation of the Our Father in the Spanish language is based on the Latin version. It is important to mention that Latin is the legitimate language of the Holy See and it was also the dialect that was used in the Middle Ages to pray this prayer. Even Latin was practiced by those people who were not very educated, however, it is said that they daily used the distinction which was known as Vulgar Latin.

Now, in order for the Holy Scriptures to have a better understanding and be spread correctly, it was entrusted to San Jeronimo (a religious who could perfectly master the Hebrew dialect, Aramaic and Greek), the task of adapting the Latin Bible, which at that time was only available in other translations that other people had made.

These translations had different styles, based on the Vetus Latina or Vulgate version, which refers to all the biblical texts that were in the Latin language.

The interpretation in Spanish is the one used to impart catechism in the Catholic Church, but we must always remember that the interpretation in Latin is the official one, although there is a special authorization for it to be used in any language of the country where you want to pray. .

Consequently, the Spanish Episcopal Conference as of November 27, 1988 made the decision to group the prayer of the Our Father together with a version that was used in Latin America. This official version, which is currently used by millions of Catholics around the world, is quoted verbatim below:

"Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

let your kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,

Give us today our daily bread,

forgive our offenses

as we also forgive

To those who offend us,

And do not let us into temptation,

and deliver us from evil. Amen"

Importance of Sunday prayer

The Our Father is also known in many congregations as the Sunday prayer, this is because the word "Dominical" comes from the Latin "Dominicus" which means "Lord". Jesus he was frequently called lord by the people in the congregation and as already mentioned, he was the one who made this prayer known so that they could pray correctly, so it was logical that it represented him in a certain way.

When studying the catechism in the Catholic Church, it is noted that the Our Father manages to summarize the meaning of the entire gospel unlike other prayers. This statement is confirmed by Saint Augustine of Hippo. So his exact words will be quoted below:

"Go through all the prayers that are in the scriptures, and I don't think you can find anything that is not included in the Sunday prayer."

Saint Thomas of Aquino, in one of his treatises on theology written in the thirteenth century expressed the following verbatim:

“That Sunday prayer is most perfect […] in Sunday prayer not only are the lawfully desirable things requested, but the requests follow one another according to the order in which we should desire them, so that Sunday prayer not only regulates, according to this, our petitions, but rather serves as a norm for all our affections.”

Taking into consideration the teachings of the catechism that are provided by the Catholic Church, it is known that Jesus he did not want or did not want the Our Father to be enunciated mechanically. On the contrary, from the beginning it should have been used as a means to be able to establish a conversation with God the Father. Also in this catechism it is taught that Jesus He is the one who dictated how the relationship with the Supreme Being should be.

In a nutshell what Jesus wanted to convey was that all men should accept and identify God as their creator and of course as their Father. All these men, they had to honor him in the way he deserves and they also had to let him know through prayer that they needed him.

In this way, the Father would always grant the requests to those men who made them correctly, from the heart, so that finally everyone would repent and ask for forgiveness for all the sins committed.

Today, a wide variety of Eastern congregations use the Koine Greek translation of the Lord's Prayer. However, Catholics who carry out Latin cults, since the Second Vatican Council, use the version in their own language, despite the fact that in previous years the original Latin version was frequently used.

The Our Father in sacramental life

The Our Father is the prayer that is an important part of the sacraments that begin a person's Christian life. These sacraments are the following: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. To introduce this prayer in baptism and confirmation is to give a completely different meaning to life, it is a beginning to divine and spiritual life.

This fact has to do with conversing with God in his own language and when mass is taking place, the Our Father belongs to the whole church, that is one of the most essential moments of the ceremony, since it is the point in which the faithful will receive the Body and Blood of the Lord.

Structure of the Our Father

The Catholic Church, when teaching its catechism classes, makes sure to explain that the Our Father has a three-part structure. Beginning with the invocation, then mentioning the seven requests and concluding with the final doxology. It is because of this that the faithful of Catholicism assure that there is a great connection between Jesus and all his teachings.

This fact is proven through the prayer of the Our Father itself, in which biblical quotes are related explaining how it was that Jesus he was able to fulfill many of the things mentioned in the sentence. Within the context, quotations from the Old Testament can also be found, because Jesus for many years he was living under the doctrine of Moses or Torah.

Next, mention will be made of the structure of the Our Father to analyze part by part the importance of its content:

Invocation

"Our Father who art in Heaven"

Taking as reference Psalm 103(102):13, which says that, just as every Father pities his children, the Eternal pities those who fear him. The same biblical revelation confirms that it is possible to invoke God as Father and according to the Catholics themselves, this affirmation was declared by his own Son made man. Which means that this phrase creates a link between Man, Father and Son.

By including the word "our", a new union with Jesus, a link with the Holy Trinity and Divine Charity, which was developed by the same church worldwide.

The phrase “you are in heaven” symbolizes the greatness of God, the fact that his presence is found in the hearts of the most honest and decent. According to the Christian church, it was God himself who revealed this fact in Psalm 103(102):19, which will be quoted verbatim below:

“The Eternal established His throne in heaven”

seven requests

Next, the seven petitions that are found within the Our Father prayer will be listed and explained:

"Hallowed be thy name"

The most faithful Christians to Catholicism, affirm that at the moment in which people ask that your name be sanctified, they are being included in God's plan. If the Father is Holy, then the children are also holy. However, the fact of being saints implies making a continuous effort. An effort that will lead man to become much more like Jesus, father's son.

"Let your kingdom come"

The church today is fully aware of the return of Christ and of course the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, in this prayer you are asking for the breadth of the kingdom of God in each person in the world, throughout their lives, day after day. In other words, each and every one of the acts that are carried out by man, whether common or extraordinary, must enlarge the Kingdom of God.

It is worth noting that Christ He is the main promoter of the aforementioned Kingdom of God. It is a reality that encompasses everything, in which Jesus is present at all times. Even in the gospels Mc 1:14 and Mt 4:17, it is very clearly ratified that the main mission of Christ it is acclaiming the Kingdom of God and its arrival at the end of days.

Now, it is important to clarify that when the phrase "end of days" is mentioned, the end of the world is not being mentioned. It is a period that begins when Jesus he goes to hell and starts freeing all those righteous men from the Old Testament. with this sacrifice Jesus He grants men to go up and remain in the presence of God, so that they do not suffer in the world of the dead.

"Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven"

In this part of the petition, the faithful are praying to the Father to unify the will of all men with that of his son. This in order that the originally proposed plan of salvation can be fulfilled. Catholic Christians claim that Jesus he was well aware of the events when he fulfilled his Father's will. This statement is demonstrated in the prayer made in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is quoted verbatim below:

“And going a little further, he fell on his face, praying and saying: My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; but not as I want, but as you want. Mt 26:39

There are even other Bible verses that mention this same event. Now, the same Christians to this day firmly believe that Jesus From the moment he spread the prayer in the talk on the mountain, he was fully aware that he had to undergo a very painful suffering.

It really meant that the Father committed him to go through all that pain. But the most important thing was Jesus He knew very well that fulfilling that mandate meant that man would have the will to follow his example and fulfill the mission entrusted to him by the Father regardless of the obstacle that stood in his way.

"Give us today our daily bread"

Taking many of the texts of Catholic Christianity as a reference, there are currently three analyzes of what this phrase really means: The first consists of material sustenance, the second in the word of God and the third in the Body of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Analysis of material support

In this interpretation, the confidence that all men have in the Eternal Father is being manifested. As for the expression "our bread" it is related to all the earthly elements that man must have in order to survive. This analysis is supported by studying the following quotes from the Bible:

He “…satisfies your existence with goods, and you rejuvenate like an eagle”. Psalm 103(102)

The above quote explains that only God is in charge of covering all of man's needs. He is the Father who is able to provide all material goods and sustain all those who are committed to his mandates, regardless of whether they fulfill them consciously or unconsciously.

"When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'What is this?' because they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them: It is the bread that the Lord gives you to eat. exodus 16

In this second quote, we are talking about the way in which God fed the people of Israel in the desert, offering them manna. Which means that at no time will the Father leave his children helpless in the material aspect. Therefore, the church is considered as the New Israel, which translates as the new people of God.

And if in the times of Egypt God did not abandon his people Israel, it can be affirmed that he will not do so with his new people, which is translated as the church of Christ. Now, if you are going through a very difficult moment in life, to relieve your soul a little, you should not stop praying the Prayer to San Marcos de León.

Analysis of the word of God

In Christianity and Catholicism this phrase "Give us this day our daily bread" has a great relationship with the meaning of bread of life. This training is embodied in the Old Testament, according to interpretations by Christians. It can even be verified by the following quotes from the Bible:

“And he humbled you, and left you hungry, and fed you with manna that you did not know, nor did your parents know, to make you understand that man does not only live on bread, but lives on everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. Deut 8,3

The quote given above, is allowing man to see that he is not only in need of material sustenance. According to Catholic Christians, man is a body and soul entity that, just as bread feeds the body, the soul needs the spiritual, which is achieved through the Word of God.

In this part of the prayer, food is being asked for the complete man, since the body cannot be separated from its soul and ultimately the body cannot be nourished without also nourishing the spirit.

Below, you will also find a quote from the Bible that explains a little more the meaning of this phrase:

“But He answered and said: It is written: «Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God». Mt 4,4

This second quote is based on what Jesus quoted in the Tanach, precisely in the part of Deuteronomy (biblical book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanach), which speaks of the temptation to which he was exposed by the devil, who comments which should satisfy the hunger of your body.

Response Jesus Before this temptation, it is that the body must not only be nourished, but also the spirit, demonstrating in this way the cohesion of the message that it wanted to transmit. Jesus and the way he acts, as well as the narrative of the gospels.

Analysis of the sacrament of the Eucharist

According to the doctrine of Catholic Christianity, the explanation of this part of the prayer is found in the sacrament of the Eucharist and, in turn, is supported by the Bible itself. This explanation is based on Jesus is the food and drink of man, as expressed in the gospel of Juan which will be quoted verbatim below:

“Then Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Because my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will also live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; not like the manna that your Fathers ate, and died; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:53-58.

For Catholics, the Eucharist is found within the context of this fourth petition. Therefore, it was the same Jesus who prepared the apostles at the Last Supper so that they could spread said Sacrament of the churches to all men and that said tradition would endure for generations. Now, in this last supper, the verbatim words of Jesus to his disciples:

“And while they were eating, he took bread, and having blessed it, he broke it, gave it to them, and said, Take this, this is my body” Mk 14:22

It is noteworthy that the Gospels of Mateo y Lucas make this same point. Even in the first letter to the Corinthians 11:23-25 ​​mention is made of the foundation of the Eucharistic Sacrament.

"Forgive us our offenses as we also forgive those who offend us"

This fifth request encompasses everything related to divine mercy. By reciting it, one is imploring compassion, which cannot be received until all enemies have been forgiven. just like he did Jesus when he was nailed to the cross. This explanation is evidenced by the following quote:

 "Jesus said: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' Lk 23:34

Jesus He pronounces these words because he is completely sure that the Father is capable of forgiving with true love. It is even a passage found in Psalm 103(102):3, which will be quoted verbatim below:

"He forgives all your iniquities."

Now, in this same psalm, but in verse 10 the following is expressed verbatim:

“He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor has he repaid us according to our sins”

From the point of view of Catholics, due to these reasons, God the Father is begged to forgive men and all their sins, as long as they are willing to forgive and do so from the heart.

“Lead us not into temptation”

In this part of the Our Father, Catholics ask God to separate them from all paths that could cause them to fall into sin. At the same time, the Holy Spirit is being implored to grant much lucidity, good sense and strength, as was granted to Jesus when he was tempted by the devil in the desert. It is because of this that each and every Catholic affirms that Jesus it was quite consistent with his training.

Below is another quote from one of the Bible verses that talks about the story of Jesus by not falling into temptation:

“…and he said to him: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written: «He will commend you to his angels», and: «They will carry you in their hands, lest your foot strike a stone.» Jesus said to him: It is also written: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Matthew 4:6-7

"And deliver us from evil"

In this last part of the Our Father, God the Father is being asked to remove all obstacles from the path of the person praying. This plea manages to fit perfectly with the one Jesus does. In other words, the Christian asks the Lord that, with the help of the Catholic Church, his son exposes his victory over the devil and his plans to prevent the salvation of all men.

Catholics call their church, the church of God the Father, which is evidenced in the following gospel quoted verbatim:

“…and the forces of death will not prevail over Her” Mt 16:18

When the word "she" is expressed, it is speaking of the Church of ChristFor the Catholic religion, death is the result of sin, however, the church will not be defeated by sin or death itself.

Doxology at the end of the sentence

In the catechism imparted by the Catholic Church, there is a section that is numbered 2855, in which the meaning of the doxology that is appended to the end of the Our Father is discussed. An example of what it really is is literally left below:

"Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever, Lord, Amen"

The doxology outlined above means the worship of God the Father. At the moment of reciting this phrase, the Christian is paying him the well-deserved veneration that he deserves as a supreme being and after being treated as a person for so long, he must be given his position to be recognized as the Eternal Being.

Said doxology is also related to the action of thanking the Father for restoring the 3 titles that he possesses, which will be announced below:

Reino

Which is directly related to ratifying that God is the sovereign of the universe and heaven. Therefore, there is nothing and no one that can exceed his domain.

The ability to

This title refers to the fact that God has the power to do anything, because he is the origin of all things, including of course matter.

Gloria

Finally we have the Glory, where it is stated that each and every one of the heavenly beings, as well as all the men of this world, must pay tribute to God. Therefore, these three titles Christ He returned them to his Father so that he could become everything, everyone.

Next, we have the expression "Forever Lord", which means that God is an eternal being, in other words, the Eternal. Next, the word "Amen", at the moment of pronouncing it, it is because the prayer of the Our Father has ended. And what is its meaning? Well, very simple, it can be clarified through the words of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem which will be quoted verbatim immediately:

“After finishing the prayer, you say: Amen, endorsing by means of this Amen, which means «So be it» Lk 1:38, what contains the prayer that God taught us”

What the quotation that has just been reflected in the text means is that when any person utters the word "Amen", is actually stating that "So be it", that he wants it that way, that he expects it that way and that he asks for it that way. However, what must be fully assured is that with this word, God the Father is accepting the prayer.

Bible texts related to the final doxology of the Our Father

At the moment when Jesus the Our Father ended, included the phrase "Amen" to worship God. It was a way of honoring him, just as the Jews did in the Old Testament. It is even said that these types of words were used to teach the people of Israel how to obey God, they had to know that he was the sovereign of the universe.

Next, some phrases that belong to the Old Testament will be quoted literally, where the worship of God is reflected. These passages are taken into account because it is believed that Jesus he could have read them and drawn his inspiration from them. This is due to the way in which they are structured and also because in them God the Father is recognized as the owner of the following characteristics: king, powerful, glorious and eternal.

The first quote is captured verbatim in Psalm 93:

“The Lord is king; he is clothed with splendor, the Lord, he is clothed and surrounded with power; Firm and immovable is the Earth. Your throne is firm forever, you exist from eternity "

This second quote is taken verbatim from Chronicles 29,11:13-XNUMX (Latin American Bible):

“Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness, the magnificence, the duration and the glory; for yours is how much there is in heaven and on earth. Yours, O Yahweh, is royalty; you are above everything, power and strength are in your hand and it is your hand that magnifies everything and gives consistency to everything. Well then, O our God, we celebrate you and praise your magnificent name.”

Different interpretations of the Our Father

Currently there are two types of interpretations of the Our Father, the Orthodox and the Protestant. The first version of interpretation is related to the Russian Orthodox Church and the Antiochian Orthodox Church, which are the largest autocephalous Christian congregations in the world.

Orthodox interpretation

It is important to note that for these Orthodox churches, these prayers of the Our Father that will be stated later, are simply a model of the Christian prayer. For these consecrations, this prayer is divided into three parts. The first called invocation, the second would be the seven requests and finally the glorification.

The way they study them is a little different than the way Catholic Christians study it. Therefore, it should be mentioned that the study of these sentences is based on their outer content and their inner content will be explained later.

First of all, you will find the Russian Orthodox version of the Our Father in Spanish quoted verbatim so that it can be compared with the prayer that Catholic Christians pray.

 “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, just as it is in heaven, on earth. Give us our substantial daily bread today. Forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Glorification: For yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Secondly, there is the interpretation of the Orthodox Church of Antioch, which is also quoted literally.

“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our substantial daily bread give us today, and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil "

Glorification: For yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory… of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (now and always and forever and ever). Amen

In the event that until now there are certain doubts regarding the explanation of the Our Father, we recommend this simple video that will be able to answer some of those doubts that have arisen.

outer content

The external content is structured in three sections, the invocation, the seven petitions and the glorification.

• In the first part, which they call Invocation, they include the phrase "Our father who art in Heaven".
• In the second part, which is called petitions (and as you can see their division so far is the same as that of Christian Catholics), they incorporate the phrase “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our substantial daily bread, and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”.
• In the third part, which completely changes the Christian Catholic structure, the phrase “For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory (for ever and ever). Amen".

Many people today believe that this analysis is not as explicit as the one that was embodied earlier. It is much more concrete and is not as broad as it should be.

inner content

In relation to the interior content, it can be said that this way of explaining the Our Father prayer turns out to be much more spiritual.

• The first part is called Invocation and petitions to magnify and praise God, which includes the following part "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
• The second part is called Bodily and spiritual needs and the sentence is included: "Give us our substantial daily bread today."
• And the third part is called personal sins. The remainder of the sentence is included in this part: “and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”

The first part has to do with all the love that we have for God and the best way to explain it is the following:

"Our father who art in Heaven"

It refers to an Orthodox Christian who, at the moment of crying out to the Father of Heaven, testifies that his real people are not found in the world of men, but are in heaven.

"Hallowed be thy name"

It means that everyone should pray that God's name be hallowed in themselves and in every human being in the world.

"Thy kingdom come"

The Orthodox believe that man constantly faces struggles between two principles: light and darkness, truth and falsehood, good and evil. Therefore, he must pray intensely so that the light, the truth and the good win so that the Kingdom of God is triumphant.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

In relation to this supplication, the Orthodox believe that man must submit to the will of God to achieve full wisdom and truth of life.

The second part is related to material and spiritual sustenance. The Orthodox explain that this part of the Our Father prayer has two petitions.

"Give us our substantial daily bread today"

This part deals with everything that man needs on a bodily and spiritual level. Many believe that when the word "bread" is mentioned, it refers to the material, but this is just a false opinion. the bread is Christ, is the one who remains until eternal life, the one granted by the Son of the Father.

The third part of the prayer is called by the Orthodox as personal sins.

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"

In this passage it is being said that God always forgives the sins of man, as long as this man forgives all those debts that other men have with himself.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

In the beginning, this passage relates to the causes of sin. In the sixth petition God the Father is asked to save Christians from temptations and in the last one he begs that man be freed from the influence of evil, that is, from Satan.

Protestant interpretation

Orthodox Protestant Christians assert that the formula of the Our Father should not be repeatedly enunciated word for word. So the people belonging to these congregations can pray at any time and as they wish. Everything will depend on how they feel on a given occasion. Even Evangelicals and Pentecostals call this moment the feeling of the Holy Spirit.

Now, it is appropriate to point out that Protestant Christians assure that the prayer to the Our Father is a reflection, therefore, it should not be mechanically narrated word by word. They even state that their interpretation is supported by the text of Mateo 6: 7-8.

And when the time comes to pray, it is not saying the words just to say them as the Gentiles do, they affirm that they do it because they believe they will be heard for the many phrases they pronounce.

Next, the interpretation of the Our Father is explained a little, under the guideline of the Orthodox Protestants:

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name”

At the moment of praying, as everyone knows, one must begin by sanctifying and praising the name of God the Father, because he says: “I am who is”, to later take that name for himself. This is related to accepting God as the main thing in all things of daily life and of course as the creator of everything.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

After accepting and praising God, his will must be acceded to and not that of the person praying. Now the phrase “thy kingdom come”, is an affirmation that Jesus is self-proclaiming the Messiah. This is believed because he is asking for the Kingdom of God to come, which will become the Messianic Kingdom that he himself will lead when he returns to earth.

Jesus in this part of the sentence he is also affirming that at some point all existing prophecies will be fulfilled. Since, in order for a Messianic Kingdom to exist, the prophecies that appear in the Bible must first be given.

"Give us today our daily bread"

During prayer you can ask God the Father for many things, regardless of whether they are personal or not, the important thing is that this is the correct way to ask for daily bread.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”

It means asking for forgiveness for one's own sins, as well as granting forgiveness to those men who have affected in some way the life of the person who is praying.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"

This last part of the Our Father, means for the orthodox Protestants, the plea to God the Father to protect them from everything evil, mainly from Satan.

The debt dispute

Over the years there have been writers who claim that the translation of the sentence "Just as we forgive our debtors", is a direct allusion to the forgiveness of monetary debts. On the other hand, it is also said that it is associated with the mandate consigned in the Torah, which consisted that in the sabbatical years and during the jubilee, an "acquittal" of debts was carried out.

In the time of Jesus This law was incredibly debated, since the richest opposed its compliance, especially the bankers, because they were afraid of the total paralysis of the economy. This is why the creditors of the debts sought protection before a court to adhere to an action called "Prosbul".

The purpose of this action was to transfer the debt to a court of law before the sabbatical year, to then be delivered back to the creditor after the sabbatical year. All this in order to prevent monetary debts from being forgiven.

This is why some theologians claim that Jesus he wanted to relate this monetary forgiveness to God's forgiveness of sins. This context relates to the part of forgiving the offenses of others.

Now, many versions of the Vulgate (translation of the Hebrew and Greek Bible into Latin), recognize in the Our Father, words like "debits" what does debt mean “debit tax”, What does debtors mean? Although in other verses of the Bible there is talk of "offenses". What seems to be very strange today is that after so many years, many churches have decided to eliminate the allusion that makes Jesus in reference to the forgiveness of monetary debts.

Similarity of the Our Father with Judaism and Islam

Judaism and Islam are religions very similar to Christianity, they believe in one God. In the case of Judaism, it is not admitted that Jesus of Nazareth be the Messiah, because he did not fulfill all the prophecies that he should have made and he did not fulfill all the requirements that a Messiah should have. This religion professes that the Bible contradicts Jewish theology about Jesus, which should have carried out a national relief, should not have made itself known through the performance of miracles.

On the other hand, the Jews have a prayer they call Abinu Malkenu, which when translated means "Our Father, Our King". Many rabbis today claim that this supplication is closely related to the Christian Our Father.

Now, in the case of Islam, it has a figure Isa, which is supposed to be Jesus, which is of great importance to them because it symbolizes the Messiah. Therefore, he is one of the prophets who is closest to Allah.

These take his teachings very seriously, but they assure that the faithful of Paul of Tarsus (a Christian apostle who, in the early years of the era, was in charge of spreading the message that Christ) distorted them. Still, they hail the Our Father as a great prayer, which was spread by a great prophet.

The Our Father in non-Nicene Christic creeds

The term Nicene refers to people who are faithful to the conclusions reached by the Council of Nicaea I and that they are summarized in the Nicene symbol, what is known today as the prayer of the creed. However, the historical Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches affirm that those who do not adhere to the doctrines that emerged from this conciliation, in short, are not Christians.

Jehovah's Witnesses

These people are also opposed to the Our Father being prayed mechanically. They are based on the same words of Christ which will be quoted verbatim below:

"More when praying, do not say the same things over and over" (Matthew 6:7)

There are differences in the Our Father with the Protestant creeds of Jehovah's Witnesses. The first difference has to do with Jesus refers to the fact that the name of God, when asking to be sanctified, must also be spread and the second is based on the request “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, they interpret it as the obligation they have to worship God and spread that worship as much as possible.

Messianic Jews

They interpret the Our Father as Protestantism or Catholicism does. However, there are people within this group who do not follow the current of what these doctrines dictate. These people deny the divinity of the Messiah and make sure to state the prayer in Hebrew or Aramaic because Jesus he was Jewish and knew these languages ​​perfectly.

Sunday prayer as a language reference

In the vast majority of places, this prayer is referred to by the name that is commonly known, Our Father. However, due to translations in different languages, the name is transformed and sometimes remains completely different, as is the case in English, in which it is known as the Lord's Prayer.

Comparison of languages ​​from the Our Father

Since the book showing different texts in various languages ​​(Mithridates), including of course the Our Father, was published, many theologians began to make language comparisons. Next, you can see a small comparison of the names of the sentence in different languages:

Afroasiatic language family/Semitic languages

Jesus He lived in a Semitic place, so he spoke a variety of languages ​​and as you can see the word "father" has a very similar origin, which is Ab, then the preposition that demarcates belonging is placed.

• Spanish language: Our Father
• Aramaic: Abwoon
• Hebrew: Avinu
• Arabic: Aba-na
• Syriac: Abwoon

Indo-European language family/Germanic languages

As can be seen in Germanic languages ​​the word “Father” has a very similar pronunciation to “Fader”, which has the same Indo-European origin as Greek and other dialects.

• Spanish: Our Father
• German: Vaterunser
• English: Our Father (Lord's Prayer)
• Dutch: Onze Vader
• Afrikaans: Ons Vader
• Danish: Fader Vor
• Swedish: Fader Vår (Herrens Bön)

Romance languages

The origin of the name comes from the Latin Pater noster. Pater is a Latin word that has the same origin as Greek and the other Germanic languages. However, Latin gave way to the creation of other dialects that conformed to that of the Romance languages.

• Spanish: Our Father
• Italian: Padre Nostro
• French: Notre Père
• Catalan: Pare Nostre
• Galician: Noso Pai
• Portuguese: Pai Nosso
• Romanian: Tatăl Nostru

slavic languages

As can be seen in this type of language, the word "Our" is pronounced practically the same as "Nash" and in turn shares its origin with Greek or the Romance languages.

• Spanish: Our Father
• Polish: Ojcze Nasz
• Czech: Otče Náš
• Slovak: Otče Náš
• Slovenian: Oče Naš
• Bulgarian: Отче наш
• Ukrainian: Отче наш
• Russian: Отче наш

Distinctions of the sentence in Spanish with other translations

One of the differences that is most noticeable in the sentence in Spanish and in the other translations is in the phrase "Let your kingdom come". In said translation, the decision was made to add the word "U.S" in order to avoid the ambiguity of "Come", which refers to the 3rd person of the verb "Come" and that it is not about the singular verb "avenge".

It is considered important to note that the phrase mentioned above is also very similar to the phrase that is used by the Russian Orthodox congregation. Both versions are said to be derived from the Gospel of Luke 11,2:XNUMX in Greek. Now, when reviewing other modern languages, you can take a look at the English language, which said phrase “The Kingdom eats” means “thy kingdom come”.

Differences with the Greek text shared by other translations

One of the most outstanding differences is based on the 4th request "give us this day our daily bread". Ever since they began translating the Our Father, it has become almost impossible to identify the Greek word ἐπιούσιον “epiousion”. Many translated it as "daily", "daily" until they left the phrase "every day".

It is said that the ““epiousion” means “of tomorrow”. Therefore, the correct translation should be the following: “give us today our bread for tomorrow”. Which refers not only to perishable bread but to the one that lasts for life. However, other translations that mean the same thing are currently used, such as the French "notre pain quotidien" the Italian "nostro pane quotidiano", the English "Give us this day our daily bread" and the Spanish "nuestro pan de cada day” among others.

The Coptic language is a dead dialect today, but in it are found some translations of the Our Father that were made in the time of early Christianity. So this church translates this fourth petition this way: "our bread for tomorrow give us today." So this church confirms that this is one of the most faithful translations that exists.

Non-religious uses of Sunday prayer

In the seventeenth century, Spanish domination in America began to develop rapidly and was frequently manifested through political criticism, which was mainly directed towards the Catholic institution of the Court of the Holy Office or Inquisition.

Everyone saw that it was a fairly severe repression that accelerated the discontent of the French. These in turn developed another repression that became so extensive that it encompassed the religious sphere, which resulted in the emergence of "perverted prayer".

Therefore, before the year 1800, specifically in New Spain, some verses arose against the gachupines that were related to the Our Father prayer. Many people today have explained that this way of using the Our Father in recent years encompasses an inverted meaning to the one studied in this article. This form is used to somehow attack men and transform political and social orders.