Praying the "Our Father"

Alena Cabral

May 26, 2009

Theology of the Catholic Church 

Professor Michael Barber

Praying the “Our Father”

 

Praying the “Our Father”

INTRODUCTION

During the rough times, we tend to pray more. However, God wants us to be able to come to him during anything. Like a best friend, He is always there to listen. He also wants to be able to tell us what He thinks. The way that we are able to communicate with God is through prayer. When God came to save His creation, He was able to teach us how we should pray. In the Bible, Jesus teaches His followers the prayer known today as the “Our Father.” Most people do not think about what they are saying when they pray using specific prayers. In order to truly pray the “Our Father,” we must understand the words that we are saying.

Before we can understand the “Our Father,” we must first understand prayer. As St. John Damascene states “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (CCC 2559) Prayer joins us with God. It brings us into a “covenant relationship” (CCC 2564) with God. The way we are able to come about this relationship is through His Son, Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus tells us to pray in a specific way, it is for our own benefit. Prayer is “communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ’s love.” (CCC 2565) Therefore, it is in our best interest for us to come before God often in prayer and to pay particular attention to when Jesus tells us to pray in a specific way.

Now that we have a basis for what prayer is, we will be able to understand the “Our Father” more clearly. In order to do this, it is important for us to separate the “Our Father” into different parts. When looking at this prayer in the Gospel of Matthew, it is clear that there is an introduction, followed by seven distinct petitions. In order to truly follow Christ’s words, it is important that we look over each part of the prayer carefully. 

First, we must look at how the prayer is structured. The prayer starts with an address to our Heavenly Father. That is followed by three petitions that have to do with bring God the Father glory. The prayer then goes to four petitions that we ask God to help us with in order to bring about in greater glory the first three petitions that bring God glory.

Next, we must look at the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke and see the situation that Jesus is in when He teaches the “Our Father” to His followers. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns against being a hypocrite. (Mt 6:5) Instead, He tells us that we should pray where only our Heavenly Father will know. (Mt 6:6) He also informs us to keep our prayers simple. (Mt 6:7) He then proceeds by telling them “Pray then like this.” (Mt 6:9) The Gospel of Luke’s “Our Father” is started through a disciple asking Jesus “teach us how to pray.” (Lk 11:1) Jesus directly responds “When you pray, say”. (Lk 11:2) It is important, then, to take these introductions into consideration when praying. Before we pray, we must prepare ourselves and put ourselves into God’s presence. 

“OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN” or “FATHER”

Jesus first teaches us a way to address our prayer to God, “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Mt 6:9) or simply “Father”. (Lk 11:2) First, we must realize how strange it is that we refer to God as a father. The reason that we should consider this strange is because Jesus is talking to the ancient Jews who rarely refer to God as a Father.  However, when God is referred to as “Father” in the Old Testament, there is an interesting connection. Each place that “Father” is used to address God is during “the Exodus from Egypt and the prophetic hope for a new Exodus.”  In the story of the Exodus, God refers to the Israelites as His “first-born son.” (Ex 4:22) In prophecies that are also in the Old Testament, we are able to see the “future ingathering of Israel and the Gentiles in a new Exodus”  which is coming true throughout the New Testament. Therefore “Our Father” is showing us that this is what the prophets were prophesying about.

Another crucial connection that “Our Father” has with the Old Testament is that when God is referred to as “Our Father” it will be “the establishment of the Davidic kingdom under the messianic king.”  Jews in Jesus’ time would have seen this strong connection to the Davidic line that the messiah is coming from as a clear sign that the messiah is currently there with them.

Wright points out that God is showing His people that they are more than just people, they are a “family life and intimacy” and it shows future generations that “Israel is God’s first-born son.”   As Scott Hahn points out that Jesus starting the prayer this way is “making His Father, our Father too, enabling us to share His intimate conversation, which is constant and habitual.”  The term “Our Father” also implies that this is a prayer for a group of people because it does not say “my” but “our”, therefore it can be seen as a “prayer for the Church.”  This shows that God sees the Church is, like Israel, His first-born and the one who will inherit heaven.

The fact that I can call God Father is reassuring. Bringing this level of intimacy to my relationship with God encourages me to follow His will in all aspects of my life. Just like I would listen to the advice of my earthly father, my heavenly Father knows what is best for me in the most perfect way. Through being able to have that connection with God that was established by Christ, I am able to reach out to Him like I would when I need my earthly father or when he needs something from me. 

“HALLOWED BE THY NAME”

The first petition in the “Our Father” is “hallowed be thy name.” (Mt 6:9, Lk 11:2) The reason that Jesus tells us to pray for God’s name to be hallowed comes from an “eschatological prophecy.”  In Ezekiel, God tells his people “I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations.” (Ezk 35:23) The prophecy continues by saying “For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries.” (Ezk 35:24) Through this prophecy, it is clear that Jesus has is showing that God’s name will be made holy. As a result, Christ is showing to us that He will be bringing God’s chosen people back together. 

Another reason that God’s name must be hallowed when we are praying is because it follows a “feature of Jewish prayer.”  This prayer, “the kaddish” , “began ‘Magnified and sanctified be his great name.’”  God’s name was often called upon during “ancient form(s) of worship.”  Another reason that it is important to make sure that God’s name is hallowed at all times is to avoid taking the name of the Lord in vain.  (Ex 20:7) The best way to do achieve not taking the name of the Lord in vain is to continually hallow the name of the Lord in prayer.

Another reason why we must hallow God’s name is because “when something is holy, it is consecrated…in that sense, it is transcendent.”  This is important because “holiness” is associated with covenants. When we swear using God’s name it is an oath, not just a contract. Oaths using God’s name, therefore becoming a covenant, makes the people involved a family. Therefore, God is also showing that He is becoming family. These covenants bring about judgment on those involved. When we become family, we take on the name of those in the family. For that reason, when we take on being a part of God’s family, therefore, taking on His name as well.

This part of the prayer should also be our “motivation” because as the children of God, we must help to “hallow” the name of God. This idea can often give us an “incentive” that we “need to complete a task or action.”  It is also important for us to remember that we take on the name of God because Christ has allowed us to become part of His family. We are able to make God’s name holy in many ways by our actions. Unfortunately, this means that we may often disgrace His name. Praying that God’s name may be holy at all times is important because we must continue to hallow His name. When we “fall”, we are unable to hallow God’s name, and just like the Israelites did not always show the holiness of God’s name to the other nations, we also do not reflect the holiness of God’s name to those who witness our actions. Therefore, we must always pray that because we have taken on God’s name through becoming His family, that we are also able reflect the holiness that God is and always has been and always will be instead of our own selfishness.

“THY KINGDOM COME”

The next part of the prayer is “thy kingdom come.” (Mt 6:10, Lk 11:2) There is one passage in the Bible that Christ refers back to during this part of the prayer. This passage is Micah 4:1-8. The specific line in that passage that shows there was a kingdom to come is Micah 4:8.  This is extremely important to the ancient Jews because it shows that the “coming of the kingdom” is to happen with “several other eschatological events.”  Just like the “hallowed be thy name” (Mt 6:9, Lk 11:2) shows that Christ will be bringing together the lost tribes and also the Gentiles, Christ saying for us to pray for “thy kingdom come” is also showing that the kingdom will come when God brings about the lost tribes and the Gentiles and brings them together. Therefore, when Christ tells his disciples that they need to pray for the kingdom to come, it means exactly that. 

There is also another link to the ancient Jewish prayer, the “kaddish.”  In this prayer they also use the same wording that is seen in the Gospels when they are praying for the “arrival of the kingdom of God” that Jesus is also praying for.

There is also a connection between the “kingdom come” and the Davidic covenant. In the Gospel of Matthew, it shows a clear line between the kingdom of David and how Jesus comes from the line of Davidic Kings.  In order for the kingdom of God to come fully, Jesus’ glory must come fully. Although the kingdom is here, “it is not fully manifest. It is present invisibly and veiled sacramentally.”  Therefore, we must pray for the fullness of God’s kingdom to come, not just masked like it is currently in the world.

This part of the prayer might become hard to pray because in order for the kingdom of God to come, our actions must be in acceptable in the kingdom of God. If our actions are not able to live up to the standard that must be upheld in God’s kingdom, the kingdom of God is unable to become present. However, in Mass, there is a wonderful miracle that takes place. In this miracle, the kingdom of God comes and touches earth. This is amazing because even with our imperfections, Christ still brings the kingdom of God to earth.

“THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN”

The last of the three “thy” petitions is “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mt 6:10) This petition is two-fold. The first part of the prayer shows that we must “humbly and unconditionally” follow the will of God the Father.  The next point in this part of the prayer is a fulfillment of the first part. In order for God’s will be done, we must choose to choose God’s will over our own desires. When the first part of the prayer is fulfilled, then the second part of the prayer can be fulfilled as well. Just as the saints and angles have accomplished the perfection, our goal is to reach it as well. 

This prayer is probably the hardest part of the “Our Father” to truly strive for. In order for every other part of the “Our Father” to be accomplished, we must be able to accomplish this first. Before God’s name can be “hallowed”, our wills must become one with the will of Our Father who created us. Also, in order for us to forgive others, we must become like God and desire all to become holy. Our hearts must become like God’s in order for us to forgive those around us and therefore be forgiven by our Father who has taught us how to forgive.

“GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD” or “GIVE US EACH DAY OUR DAILY BREAD”

This starts the prayers that directly relate to our needs. The first is “give us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11) or “give us each day our daily bread”. (Lk 11:3) The first point that can be made is that Jesus is telling us to ask God for our different earthly needs. Jesus tells us in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that we don’t need to worry about earthly things, because God will take care of it just like he does for the animals. (Mt 6:25-34, Lk 22-31) Here, Jesus is showing that God will take care of the earthly needs of his people. 

However, there is also a spiritual “daily bread” that we should receive daily.  The Eucharist is made present daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Just like God gave the Israelites manna in the desert when they were hungry (Ex 16), we receive miraculously the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ through the Eucharist. We can receive the Eucharist daily. Therefore, God nourishes both our physical body and our spiritual soul. 

Another reason important thing to understand when reading this is that the “ancient Jews expected that when the Messiah finally came, he would cause the manna to come down from heaven again.”  This is important to understand because it shows that the Eucharist was expected by the Jews, however, it was not established the way it actually came about. This shows that one must understand that Jesus meant this as relating directly to the Eucharistic Bread that He gave us at the last supper. 

When praying this part of the prayer, it is important for us to understand that we must pray that we come to the Eucharistic celebration more often in order to receive Christ and His graces so that we might become perfect in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and becoming less selfish and more selfless. 

“FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS”

The next part of the “Our Father” deals with sin. We pray that God will “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12) or “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us”. (Lk 11:4) This is another difficult part of the “Our Father”. Although it is great to know that God will forgive us our sins, it is difficult because in order for God to forgive us, we must forgive those who have hurt us. It shows that we must try our hardest to forgive all those who have hurt us, even though sometimes we feel like they have hurt us so much we could never forgive them. However, when we sin, therefore hurting God, we are not hurting just another person like our own self; we are hurting someone so much higher. We are hurting a person who has never hurt us. We are hurting someone who is perfect. Because of this, God teaches us that if He can forgive us, then we should always forgive those around us. We must bring about our own conversion back to Christ’s loving care. 

An important foreshadowing of this part of the “Our Father” occurred through the establishment of the Jubilees that were established in the Old Testament. Every so many years, God proclaims a Jubilee where all debts (or sins) were forgiven. This was based off of the Exodus. However, when each Jubilee came about, it was not simply something that happened and they were thinking about, it was also happening in the present and looked for when the Messiah came.  Therefore, the forgiveness of sins was a fulfillment of the Old Testament. This “eschatological Jubilee” was looked to be happening during the “last days” so that sinners will be set free.  Because the Jubilee was also about returning land, people also saw that the “eschatological Jubilee” will bring about a new promise land. We know that this promise land is not just a place on earth, but Heaven. 

During this part of our prayer, we must especially try to look at ourselves and remind ourselves that no one is closer to us that those who sin against us. God shows us that He will forgive us, and how much farther we are from Him then we are from those who hurt us. 

“AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION”

The third petition that we ask God in the “Our Father” is “lead us not into temptation.” (Mt 6:13, Lk 11:4) This is very hard to understand. In order to understand what Jesus is calling us to do, we must look past the first glance and dig much deeper. Although we often think that temptation means sin, it does not. “Temptation” is really supposed to “refer to ‘testing’ or trial.’”  Jesus, therefore, wants us to pray that we will not be tested where they might have to “undergo tribulation, suffering, and maybe even death.”  This was also foreshadowed in the Old Testament during times of plagues. 

The third time that this part of the “Our Father” is foreshadowed is the most important. This is because it connects the “Passover to a future time of tribulation in which Israel will be delivered from Exile.”  This is of great importance because throughout this “Our Father” we are seeing how God is now bringing back the tribes like He had promised and also bringing in the Gentiles. Just like the Israelites were lead out of Egypt and into the promised land, Christ’s paschal mystery brings us out of sin and into the true promised land, Heaven. 

Another important part of this petition is that it “is not a sin to feel temptation but to consent to temptation.”  This is important to realize because everyone must go through temptation in order to be purified and to choose God over themselves. When we ask for God not to lead us into temptation, we are really asking God to “give us his grace” so that we will be able to “overcome when put to the test” and “free us from temptation if we cannot cope with it.”  We must avoid being lead into temptation; however, we also must pray that when temptations come upon us, we may have the grace to overcome it. 

This prayer is also important because it is also “about taking responsibility”  for our actions, and that we can overcome temptations. It is important because not we must make sure that we are showing good examples for those around us. As leaders in our society, we must “search for what is good and wholesome” so that we “will not lead others into temptation.” 

When we pray this part of the “Our Father”, it is important for us to not only expect God to make our lives easy; we must also use our own free will to avoid things that we know will lead us to sin. This way, when other temptations come along that we cannot avoid, God will give us the grace we need to overcome them. It is especially important for us to keep this at the foreground of our thoughts when deciding what we need to show in a movie in order to avoid leading others into temptation. As Catholics, we are looked at to follow Christ’s every word. However, if people see us not necessarily sinning, but causing others to sin, we are not able to fulfill the beginning of the “Our Father” where we pray that God’s named will be made holy. 

“BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL”

The final petition in the “Our Father” is “deliver us from evil.” (Mt 6:13) In this line “evil” can be seen as “the evil one”.  The reason that we pray this is because it is a foreshadowing the future. We pray that, in the last days, “the devil and evil will be destroyed” (Rev 20:10).  Every evil doing can be traced back “to the sin of Satan.” 

This is the last of all the petitions because “the devil lives to oppose God’s will.”  Therefore, when “the evil one” is no longer here, the rebellion that the devil created dies as well. The main reason that we must “pray for deliverance from Satan” is because it is the only way that we will not fall into the temptation.  It is only by continually asking God for grace that we are able to win our own fight over Satan. We also must pray for those around us, that they may also receive enough grace that they will also be able to overcome their fight with Satan. The more people that we are able to help overcome Satan’s deception, the closer we are to Satan being completely overcome by God.

It is important for us to take this part very seriously and truly mean what we say about overcoming the temptations that will come and attack us. The more often we pray for this, the more grace God will shower upon us in order for us to defeat them. Because this is the last part of the prayer, we notice that in order for us to be delivered, we must follow each of the six previous petitions that we just finished praying. 

CONCLUSION

Each part of the “Our Father” leads to another part of the prayer. In order for us to be able to pray this prayer, it is important for us to truly understand what we are praying and why each part of the prayer is important. It is also important to pray the “Our Father” because it is a prayer to God given by God. Jesus teaches us how to pray to the Father, and He knows the Father perfectly. This prayer is not to be said as something that is just repeated over and over again during the Mass. This prayer was designed by the one who we receive at Mass, therefore, it is perfect. Christ uses the prayer to show how He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the One that all of the prophecies point to. Through this gift that Jesus gives to us of this perfect prayer, you are able to come to him and “be chaste, be modest and humble, that you may deserve to be visited frequently by the spouse (Christ)”  and come into the Heavenly Banquet that Christ provides for those who follow him. 

1.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 72. 
   
2.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 72.
   
3.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 75.
   
4.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 77.
   
5.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 72.
   
6.   Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 4.
   
7.   Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, and Dennis Walters, Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible, 2nd ed. (San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2000), 27.
   
8. 
   
9.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 78.
   
10.  Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991), 177.
    
11.  Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991), 177.
    
12.  Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991), 177.
    
13.  Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, and Dennis Walters, Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible, 2nd ed. (San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2000), 28.
    
14.  Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, and Dennis Walters, Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible, 2nd ed. (San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2000), 28.
    
15.   Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 20.
    
16.  Scott Johnson, A Father for Our Father (Longwood: Xulon Press, 2008), 48.  
    
17.  Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 81-82.
    
18.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 82.
    
19.  Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991), 177.
    
20.  Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991), 177.
    
21.  Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 27-28.
    
22.  Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 28.
    
23.  Navarre U Theological Faculty, The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in the Revised Standard Version (Princeton: Scepter Publishers, 2000).
    
24. 
    
25.  Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 85.
    
26.   Navarre U Theological Faculty, The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in the Revised Standard Version (Princeton: Scepter Publishers, 2000).
    
27.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 88.
    
28.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 90.
    
29.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 91.
    
30.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 91.
    
31.   Brant Pitre, "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus," in Letter and  Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God, ed. Scott Hahn and David Scott, vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit (Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006), 92.
    
32.   Navarre U Theological Faculty, The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in the Revised Standard Version (Princeton: Scepter Publishers, 2000).
    
33.   Navarre U Theological Faculty, The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in the Revised Standard Version (Princeton: Scepter Publishers, 2000).
    
34.   Scott Johnson, A Father for Our Father (Longwood: Xulon Press, 2008), 173.
    
35.   Scott Johnson, A Father for Our Father (Longwood: Xulon Press, 2008), 173.
    
36.   Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, and Dennis Walters, Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible, 2nd ed. (San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2000), 28.
    
37.    Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, and Dennis Walters, Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible, 2nd ed. (San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2000), 28.
    
38.  Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 65.
    
39.  Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 66.
    
40.   Scott Hahn, Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002), 68.
    
41.   Guigo II, "The Ladder from Earth to Heaven," in Tradition & Traditions, trans. Jeremy Holmes, 183.
    

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Catechism of the Catholic Church. Second Edition. Vatican City: Liberia Editrice Vaticana. 1994. 

Guigo, II. "The Ladder from Earth to Heaven." In Tradition & Traditions, translated by Jeremy Holmes, 174-188.

Hahn, Scott and Curtis Mitch. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The Gospel of Luke RSV 

Hahn, Scott, Curtis Mitch, and Dennis Walters. Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible. 2nd ed. San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2000. 

Hahn, Scott. Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer. Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2002. 

Johnson, Luke Timothy, and Daniel J. Harrington. The Gospel of Luke. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991.

Johnson, Scott. A Father for Our Father. Longwood: Xulon Press, 2008. 

Navarre U Theological Faculty. The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in the Revised Standard Version. Princeton: Scepter Publishers, 2000.

Pitre, Brant. "The Lord's Prayer and the New Exodus." In Letter and Spirit: The Authority of Mystery; The Word of God and the People of God. Edited by Scott Hahn and David Scott., 69-96. Vol. 2 of Letter and Spirit. Steubenville, Ohio: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2006. 

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