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Our Father
The Our Father, also called the Lord's Prayer, is the prayer Jesus taught His disciples and one of the central prayers of Christian life.
Pray
Our Father
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.
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“Our Father, who art in heaven”
Jesus teaches us to approach God as Father. The word our also reminds us that Christian prayer is never completely isolated from the rest of the Church.
“Hallowed be thy name”
We ask that God's name be recognised as holy, beginning in our own lives and extending throughout the world.
“Thy kingdom come”
This is a prayer for God's reign to take deeper root in us and for the final fulfilment of His Kingdom.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
We ask for the grace to desire and follow God's will, even when it does not simply match what we would have chosen for ourselves.
“Give us this day our daily bread”
We entrust our ordinary needs to God. Catholic tradition also hears here an echo of the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”
We ask for mercy while accepting that receiving mercy should reshape the way we treat those who have wronged us.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
We ask God to sustain us in temptation and protect us from the power of evil as we try to remain faithful to Him.
In brief
Catholics pray the Our Father because Jesus Himself taught His disciples this prayer. It brings together worship, trust in God, dependence on His providence, forgiveness, resistance to temptation and deliverance from evil.
Understand
What is this prayer?
The Our Father is the prayer Jesus gives His disciples in the Gospels. The Catholic Church therefore treats it as the fundamental Christian prayer and a model for how Christians should approach God.
Quick facts
- Also called
- The Lord's Prayer
- Latin name
- Pater Noster
- Given by
- Jesus Christ
- Biblical texts
- Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:1–4
- Common use
- Mass, Rosary and personal prayer
Why Catholics pray it
Why it matters
Catholics pray the Our Father because its words come directly from Jesus' teaching. It teaches Christians to address God as Father, seek His kingdom and will, trust Him for daily needs, forgive others and ask for protection from sin and evil.
When to pray
When Catholics use it
The Our Father can be prayed at any time. It is part of the Mass, the Rosary, the Liturgy of the Hours and countless forms of personal and communal Catholic prayer.
Meaning
What the words mean
The prayer begins by turning attention toward God before asking for personal needs. Its petitions move from God's name, kingdom and will to daily bread, forgiveness, temptation and evil, placing the whole of ordinary Christian life before the Father.
History
Where this prayer comes from
Jesus teaches the Lord's Prayer in both Matthew and Luke. Matthew preserves the fuller form that became especially important in the Church's liturgical tradition. Christians have prayed it since the earliest generations of the Church.
Scripture
Biblical connections
Matthew 6:9–13
Jesus gives His disciples the fuller Gospel form of the Lord's Prayer within His teaching on prayer.
Luke 11:1–4
After seeing Jesus pray, one of His disciples asks Him to teach them how to pray, and Jesus responds with the Lord's Prayer.
Catholic teaching
Catechism connections
CCC 2759–2760
The Catechism identifies the Our Father as the fundamental Christian prayer entrusted by Jesus to His disciples and His Church.
CCC 2803–2854
The Catechism explores the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer and what each teaches about Christian prayer and life.
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Common questions
Why is the Our Father so important to Catholics?
It is especially important because Jesus Himself teaches it. Catholics therefore see it not simply as one prayer among many, but as a model of Christian prayer.
Is the Our Father in the Bible?
Yes. Forms of the prayer appear in Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:1–4.
Why do Catholics say the Our Father during Mass?
The whole congregation prays it together before Communion, expressing trust in the Father, asking for daily bread and forgiveness, and preparing to receive Christ.
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