The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. IV. Method of reciting the Lord’s Prayer, with Commemoration and Veneration of the Saints.
CHAPTER IV.
A METHOD OF RECITING THE LORD’S PRAYER,
With Commemoration and Veneration of the Saints.
Our Father, who art in heaven.
O eternal Father, in whose house are many mansions, where thy only-begotten Son has prepared a place for thy elect children, the possession of which very many have happily gained under his conduct, and now behold thee, their most tender Father, with face revealed: Behold, we banished children of Eve, from our exile inwardly pant with sighs and prayers for our home; yes, and for thee, our Father. This we do the more eagerly and boldly, because we know that our brethren, whose natural and carnal condition was once like our own, are gone thither before us ; and therefore, by thy grace, we hope to arrive thither also by their patronage and example. Will not he who so abundantly satisfies their desire with good things, reserve one blessing also for us, who are his children? We have indeed no confidence in our own merits and justice; but because the plentiful redemption of thy Son leaves us not destitute of merits, we offer them first to thee, O merciful Father. Father, look upon the face of thy Christ, in whom thou art well pleased.
Behold also thy elect, our brethren (for we have one and the same Father in heaven), come supplicating thee for us to the throne of thy glory, secure of their own salvation, but anxious for ours. For they desire to have us co-heirs with them, and endeavour to forward us by their prayers and merits to the haven of salvation.
Hear us, O merciful Father, in their regard, who, for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and the rest of thy beloved, hast more than once promised to be favourable and gracious to others. Therefore, our first petition is,
Hallowed he thy name.
We adore thee, most holy God, because all honour and glory is due to thee alone; and therefore we pray that the honour and love of thy holy name may be always and everywhere spread and advanced by us. We wish and desire that all that we say, do, and think, may be directed only to the glory of thy name. To this, as we are urged by the example, so we desire to be assisted by the aid of the most holy Virgin Mary, who, when chosen to be the mother of the Son of God, magnified not herself, but the Lord, because he had regarded the humility of his handmaid, and had done for her great things, who is mighty, and his name holy.
We learn as much from the holy angels, whose only office and employment is to hallow and praise the name of the Lord. And therefore they sing to thee incessantly. Holy, holy, holy. No sooner was the Saviour born, than they united in singing, Glory to God in the highest. Nor do they now cease to praise God, but excite us by their warnings and inspirations to hallow God also by holy works. So let our light shine, therefore, and our works appear before men, that they who see them may thence be led to glorify God.
2. Thy kingdom come.
We adore thee, O Lord, because thou art the king of highest majesty and power, and hast made us heirs of thy kingdom by thy Son. We beseech thee, therefore, by the prayers, tears, sighs, and groans of the holy patriarchs and prophets, that as they, when in the flesh, with so many sighs and most fervent prayers, longed for the advent of thy Son, and the kingdom of the Messias, the new and eternal King; that he might certainly come fit last, the meek and peaceful King, the King of glory, mighty in battle, whom all nations desired for so long that he would come and sit upon the throne of his father David, and redeem Israel, since they could not enter into the kingdom of God till the King of glory first came and opened the way; even so may we, now that the entrance is opened to thy heavenly kingdom, long to be quickly conveyed from this world's abode to the kingdom of thy majesty, where one day is better than thousands in the dwellings of sinners. Happy are they who dwell in thy house, O Lord! Oh, for thy kingdom, the kingdom of all ages! Oh, when shall the kingdom of God come to us!
3. Thy will he done on earth as it is in heaven.
We adore thee, most tender Father, because thou wilt, and art able to will, only what is just, holy, and good. We therefore humbly pray thee, by the merits and intercession of thy holy apostles and disciples, that as they so promptly obeyed thy will when called by thee, that, at one bidding, they left all and followed thee; and when at length commanded to go and preach the gospel over the whole world, undertook the work that was set them, undeterred by any difficulties or drawbacks; and were thenceforward occupied in the one employment of teaching men to do the will of God, and to keep his commandments, the observance of which is the only way to man’s salvation; even so make us eager to learn what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God, and, when learnt, earnestly to endeavour to perform it; that we may not be of the number of those who, knowing the will of God, and doing it not, are liable to be beaten with many stripes. Give, O Lord, what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt.
4. Give us this day our daily bread.
We adore thee, most bountiful Father, because thou feedest us from our infancy, and, with fatherly affection, providest for us what is needful both for body and soul. We pray thee, therefore, by the merits and patronage of thy holy martyrs, that, as thou feddest them in this world with the bread of tears in measure, amid so many pains, trials, and afflictions, sod didst often support them in hunger— not indeed with the bread of this earth (for man lives not by this alone), but didst strengthen their heart with the bread of sons, the bread of patience, hope, and thy word and consolation; the bread of life and understanding; and givest them, now that they are conquerors, to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of thy paradise: so, too, vouchsafe to give food to us, both for body and soul, in due season in the many tribulations and necessities of this life, that we faint not by the way in which we perseveringly follow thee. Oh, that we too may reach thee, and with them be satisfied with the plenty of the house of God.
5. And forgive us our trespasses.
We adore thee, most merciful Father, because thou art rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. We therefore humbly pray thee, by the merits and intercession of thy holy confessors, that, as they never closed their hearts to love and mercy towards their neighbour, but willingly and cheerfully forgave even their enemies all offences and injuries, prayed for their persecutors, and did good to them that hated them; so we, too, may be ready to forgive our neighbour for thy sake, that thou mayest, in return, be more ready to forgive us, and to be favourable to our sins, and not to requite us according to our iniquities.
6. And lead us not into temptation.
We adore thee, most loving Father, because thou art not a tempter of evils, and temptest no man. We therefore most humbly pray thee, by the merits and prayers of all holy virgins, that as they, though weak in age, and sex, and strength, yet, by the assistance of thy grace, nobly and successfully overcame, with a masculine courage, all temptations, the allurements of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and the wiles of the devil; so we, too, by thy grace and their intercession, may never yield to any temptations, but, for the love of thee, may manfully resist every thing which could separate us from thee, to be united to whom is our happiness now and for ever. Meanwhile prove and try us, O Lord, whether we love thee sincerely. Yet suffer us not to be tempted above our power, but give us, with the temptation, the means of escape. For, if thou givest us thy grace and increasest our faith, we shall be able to do all things in him who strengthens us.
7. But deliver us from evil.
We adore thee, most gracious Father, because thou only art good, and the chief good of man. We beseech thee, therefore, by the merits, prayers, and patronage of all the saints, thy elect, who now reign with thee in heaven, that, as thou hast delivered them out of this corruption of the flesh, in which is the source of all malice, and out of this world, which is wholly set upon evil, and from Satan, who is the instigator to evil, and brought them where they are now free from all evil, and in the happy enjoyment of all good, which is thyself; so we too may be delivered from all evils and miseries, and at length associated with thy elect, where, with them, we may obtain thee, the chief and only good, and praise thee for ever in the company of thy saints. Amen.
Conclude with the prayer with which the Church closes the Lord’s Prayer, and is here particularly appropriate.
Deliver us, O Lord, we beseech thee, from all evils, past, present, and to come; and, by the intercession of the blessed and glorious Mary, the ever-virgin mother of God, with thy blessed apostles, Peter and Paul and Andrew, and all the saints, favourably grant us peace in our days, that, by thy merciful assistance, we may ever be free from sin, and safe from all disturbance. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.