Book Review: The Fathers and "The Our Father"

I purchased a copy of this book from Eighth Day Books and a few copies are still available. According to the publisher, Catholic University of America Press:

The Lord’s Prayer contains mysteries generally overlooked by most Christians. For the Fathers of the Church, such mysteries or "difficulties"—many of which continue to puzzle modern scholars—marked divinely inspired points for prayer and reflection. Saints Cyprian of Carthage, Augustine of Hippo, Peter Chrysologus, Maximus the Confessor and others grappled with the hidden meanings behind these questions and the fruits of their efforts can inspire contemporary readers.

In this volume John Gavin, SJ explores eight mysteries of the Lord’s prayer in light of the early Church’s wisdom: How can human beings call God "Father"? Where is God the Father? How can God grow in holiness? Was there ever a time when God did not rule? Are there limitations to God’s will? Why should we seek bread? Can we make a deal with God? Does God tempt us? Without ignoring the insights of contemporary exegesis, this volume demonstrates that the responses of the Fathers to these questions have continuing relevance. Not only did they understand the issues surrounding linguistic, textual, and theological difficulties, but they also grasped the nuances of Christ’s words as illuminated by the scriptures as a whole. They provide an interpretation that challenges the mind and transforms the heart.

Mysteries of the Lord's Prayer offers the general reader, as well as scholars, a chance to rediscover a prayer that unites Christians throughout the world. It also includes appendices to aid those who wish to explore the Fathers’ writings on their own for a deeper encounter with the wisdom of the early Church.

Table of Contents (including subheads in each chapter):

Foreword by George Weigel

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1. Entering the Mysteries

    The Earliest Commentary on the Lord's Prayer (the ROTAS-SATOR Square in Pompeii)

    Which Version is the Real Lord's Prayer? (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4; the Didache)

    Why Reflect on the Lord's Prayer?

    How to Proceed?

Chapter 2. First Aporia: How can Human Beings Call God "Father"?

    Confronting a Bold Claim

        Divine Unknowability

        Human Sinfulness

    Responding to the Problems

        Divine Adoption

        Growing in the Divine Likeness

    Conclusion: Becoming Children of God

Chapter 3. Second Aporia: Where is God the Father?

    "Heavens" or "Heaven"?

        "Heaven and Earth": The Created Cosmos

        Uniting "the Heavens" with "Earth and Heaven"

        The Pilgrimage toward Heaven

    Conclusion: A Pilgrimage to Heaven

Chapter 4. Third Aporia: How Can God Grow in Holiness?

    Is Anything Sacred?

    The Holiness of God's Name in the Scriptures

        What's in a Name?

        Honoring "the Name" in Matthew and Luke

    The Fathers Hallow the Divine Name

        The Sacred Name

        The Meaning of Holiness

        Hallowing the Name

    Conclusion: Hallowing the Name Today

        Restoring the Sacred

        The Name as Love and Mission

Chapter 5. Fourth Aporia: Was There Ever a Time When God Did Not Rule?

    The Coming of the Kingdom

        God's Reign in the Old Testament

        God's Universal Rule

        God's Rule Over Israel

    N.T. Wright: The Kingdom as a New Narrative

    Gerhard Lohlink: Accepting God's Rule

    Benedict XVI: Christ and the Kingdom

    The Fathers and the Kingdom

        Defining the Kingdom

        Locating the Kingdom

        Expecting the Kingdom

    Conclusion: Calling for the Kingdom of God

Chapter 6. Fifth Aporia: Are There Limitations to God's Will?

    Preliminary Considerations

        The Position of the Petition in the Lord's Prayer

        The Obedience of Jesus

    The Fathers Seek God's Will

        Equality with the Angels

        Reforming the Will

        Jesus's Cup

    Conclusion: Your Will Be Done

Chapter 7. Sixth Aporia: Why Should We Seek Bread?

    Some Problems in the Text

        The Two Versions of the Petition

        The Meaning of "Bread" in the Scriptures

        The Meaning of Epiousios

    The Bread of the Fathers

        Material Interpretations

        Spiritual Interpretations

        The Fathers and Epiousios

    Conclusion: The Fathers and the Bread of Life

Chapter 8. Seventh Aporia: Can We Make a Deal with God?

    A Puzzling Petition

        The Two Versions of the Petition

        Winning God's Forgiveness?

        The Meaning of Debts

    Forgiveness and the Fathers

        Creation in Debt

        How Can We Ask God to Imitate Us?

    Conclusion: Forgive Us Our Sins and Debts

Chapter 9. Eighth Aporia: Does God Tempt Us?

    Trial or Temptation?

        "Peirasmos" as Trial

        "Peirasmos" as Temptation

    The Evil One in the End Times

    The Fathers on Trials and Temptations

        The Nature of Temptations and Trials

        God Allows Temptations and Trials for a Time

    Conclusion: Times of Temptation, Trial, and Hope

Conclusion 

    1. Divine Adoption

    2. Pilgrimage

    3. The Greater Glory of God

    4. Citizen of the Kingdom

    5. Conformity to the Divine Will

    6. The Bread of Life

    7. Forgiveness

    8. Sharing in the Sufferings of Christ

    9. Hope

Appendix: Brief Portraits of the Fathers

(Augustine of Hippo, Chromatius of Aquileia, Cyprian of Carthage, Cyril of Jerusalem, Evagrius Ponticus, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome of Stridon, John Cassian, John Chrysostom, The Master, Maximus the Confessor, Origen of Alexandria, Peter Chrysologus, Tertullian, Theodore of Mopsuestha)

Bibliography

Scripture Index

General Index

    

Each aporia is a difficulty with the phrase or petition under consideration in the chapter; Father Gavin explores the issue, sites some important translation issues, variations in the versions of The Lord's Prayer, certain passages from the Old and New Testaments, and then delves into how the Fathers of the Church, listed above, dealt with the issue, and prayed the prayer.

This commonly used prayer can only be understood in and through the Church, with the Apostolic Preaching of all the Scriptural and Traditional handing on the Truths of God's Divine Revelation. Otherwise, we either mouth the words unthinkingly, without recollection or reflection, or we get caught up in our own interpretations. We need to pray The Our Father in the context of Christian doctrine, morals, and worship.

Although this kind of book might not be considered spiritual reading, I found the passages from the Fathers and the Conclusion of each chapter inspirational for my Holy Hour prayer time in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Recommended.

"The Lord's Prayer" and Henry the Eighth

There has been quite a lot of confusion about changes to the translation of the Pater Noster in the Roman Rite for the dioceses of Italy. The headlines for the stories usually indicate that Pope Francis has changed the wording of the Lord's Prayer and indignation ensues: "He can't make me change the way I say the Our Father! How dare he? Who does he think he is?".

What's even more confusing is that even excellent clarifications of the matter use English to explain how the Italian bishops have revised the Latin of the Roman Missal into Italian! or how the French bishops did so for their vernacular edition of the Roman Missal!

This past weekend I attended four sessions of the Eighth Day Institute (EDI) Florovsky-Newman Week. Each began with the EDI Convocation including the Nicene Creed (without the filioque), a morning or evening prayer, and the Lord's Prayer. Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox pray together, but not really, because Catholics don't add the Doxology and Protestants and Orthodox don't say exactly the same Doxology!

But as this blog explains, Protestants have different versions of the Lord's Prayer among them too:

Have you ever been a little confused when it comes to saying the Lord’s Prayer in a church service?

I remember when I first visited an evangelical church, that did not have a fixed, liturgical tradition. When it came to reciting the Lord’s Prayer, one group was still saying, “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us….,” while the other group had finished their, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…,” several seconds earlier. The “debtors” waited patiently until “trespassers,” like me, had finished, before continuing together.

Clarke Morledge goes on to explain why these variations in English Protestant translation exist. Blame it first on Henry VIII:

King Henry VIII, the boisterous regent of England, had broken away from the Pope, regarding the dispute over what Henry considered to be his unlawful marriage. The Catholic leader refused to grant Henry an annulment, so Henry declared himself to be the supreme head of the Church of England. But what would this breakaway church from Rome look like?

What Henry wanted to do was to standardize on a form of Christian instruction and congregational worship in the language of the people, English, and not in Latin, that formed the backbone of the Roman Mass. A standardized form of the Lord’s Prayer in English was part of Henry’s plans, and he enlisted Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to execute those plans.

Even Henry changes his mind about which version to use, as he adopts some parts of William Tyndale's translation. Henry did not like Tyndale since he opposed Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon, but he did consider Tyndale's version of Lord's Prayer had some merit. But Cranmer encouraged him to stick with the first version they'd decided on, according to the blog.

Then King James I creates some more confusion with the Authorized Version:

The story takes an interesting turn from there, during the early 17th century reign of King James. King James agreed upon having a formal revision of the English Bible, what became the so-called “Authorized” King James Version (KJV), in 1611. Here is Matthew 6:9-13 in the KJV:

Our Father which art in heaven, 

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, 

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

Give us this day our daily bread.

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

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

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Notice the subtle change that the King James translators did by substituting “debts” for “trespasses,” etc. . . .

So, why did the King James translators change Tyndale’s “trespasses” in Matthew to “debts,” and leave us all befuddled in reciting the Lord’s Prayer for centuries? The King James translators chose the word “debts,” because it was a more literal reading of the original Greek.

We Catholics actually use Henry VIII's translation at Mass today with changes as described in this article from the EWTN Library:

Later, the Catholic Church made slight modifications in the English: "who art" replaced "which art," and "on earth" replaced "in earth." 

At Mass, we add the Doxology after the Priest prays this after we've recited the Our Father:

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And the congregation replies:

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever.  

AMEN.

(Except that we don't say Amen until after another prayer! This leads some Catholics when praying the Our Father outside of Mass--during public recitation of the Rosary, for example--to leave the Amen off at the end of the prayer. Usually when they pray the Our Father out loud--at Mass--they don't end the prayer with Amen.)