"Give us this day our daily bread". The specifically Christian. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"? Is forgiveness possible? "Lead us not into temptation" But deliver us from evil. Amen.

592. What is the sense of the petition "Give us this day our daily bread"?

Asking God with the filial trust of children for the daily nourishment which is necessary for us all we recognize how good God is, beyond all goodness. We ask also for the grace to know how to act so that justice and solidarity may allow the abundance of some to remedy the needs of others.

Further reading: CCC 2828-2834, 2861

593. What is the specifically Christian sense of his petition?

Since "man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4), this petition equally applies to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist as well as hunger for the Holy Spirit. We ask this with complete confidence for this day - God's "today" - and this is given to us above all in the Eucharist which anticipates the banquet of the Kingdom to come.

Further reading: CCC 2835-2837, 2861

594. Why do we say "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"?

By asking God the Father to pardon us, we acknowledge before him that we are sinners. At the same time we proclaim his mercy because in his Son and through the sacraments "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). Still our petition will be answered only if we for our part have forgiven first. 

Further reading: CCC 2838-2839, 2862

595. How is forgiveness possible?

Mercy can penetrate our hearts only if we ourselves learn how to forgive - even our enemies. Now even if it seems impossible for us to satisfy this requirement, the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit can, like Christ, love even to love's extreme; it can turn injury into compassion and transform hurt into intercession. Forgiveness participates in the divine mercy and is a high-point of Christian prayer.

Further reading: CCC 888-890, 939

596. What does "Lead us not into temptation" mean?

We ask God our Father not to leave us alone and in the power of temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us know hot to discern, on the one hand, between a trial that makes us grow in goodness and a temptation that leads to sin and death and, on the other hand, between being tempted andconsenting to temptation. This petition unites us to Jesus who overcame temptation by his prayer. It requests the grace of vigilance and of final perseverance.

Further reading: CCC 2846-2849, 2863

597. Why do we conclude by asking "But deliver us from evil"?

"Evil" indicates the person of Satan who opposed God and is "the deceiver of the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). Victory over the devil has already been worn by Christ. We pray, however, that the human family be freed form Satan and his works. We also ask for the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance as we wait for the coming of Christ who will free us definitively from the Evil One.

Further reading: CCC 2850-2854, 2864

598. What is the meaning of the final Amen?

"At the end of prayer, you say 'Amen' and thus you ratify by this word that means 'so be it' all that is contained in this prayer that God has taught us." 

(Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)


Further reading: CCC 888-890, 939